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Summary:
In the decade between 1994 and 2004, the number of U.S. adults using the Internet increased from 15% to 64%. From electronic mail to accessing information to online purchasing ("electronic commerce"), the Internet touches almost every aspect of modern life. The extent to which use of the Internet continues to grow, however, may be affected by a number of technology policy issues being debated in Congress First is the availability of high-speed -- or "broadband" -- Internet access. Broadband Internet access gives users the ability to send and receive data at speeds far greater than Internet access over traditional telephone lines. With deployment of broadband technologies accelerating, Congress is seeking to ensure fair competition and timely broadband deployment to all sectors and geographical locations of American society. Next are a range of issues that reflect challenges faced by those who do use the Internet, such as security, privacy (including spyware and identity theft), unsolicited commercial electronic mail ("spam"), and protecting children from unsuitable material (such as pornography). Computer security also involves broader concerns, such as the vulnerability of the nation's critical infrastructures to cyber attacks. Other issues include the administration and governance of the Internet's domain name system (DNS), which is in transition from federal to private sector control. Congress is monitoring how the Department of Commerce is managing and overseeing this transition in order to ensure competition and promote fairness among all Internet constituencies. The evolving role of the Internet in the political economy of the United States also continues to attract congressional attention. Among the issues are what changes may be needed at the Federal Communications Commission in the Internet age, federal support for information technology research and development, provision of online services by the government ( "e-government"), and availability and use of "open source" software by the government. A number of laws already have been passed on many of these issues. Congress is monitoring the effectiveness of these laws, and assessing what other legislation may be needed. Several bills are pending in the 109th Congress, particularly on broadband deployment and Internet privacy (including identity theft). This report identifies that legislation, but does not track the status of the bills. Other CRS reports referenced in this document do track legislation, and the reader should consult those reports, which are updated more frequently that this one, for current information. This report is updated quarterly.
