Veni, In Ireland, legislative interest in the Internet has appeared only in relation to the distribution of pornography and the protection of minors. It is not clear what will come of this. I understand that relevant state agencies and ISP's are co-operating to address this area. Domain registry has not been involved, and would not wish to be. I expect that in the long term, legislation to regulate Internet communication will arrive in Ireland. Until now, and for the foreseeable future, state agencies are taking a non-interventionist approach. I expect the intent of any future legislation to be in support of industry needs rather than regulation for regulation's sake. I do not expect anything unwelcome. To my knowledge, some other countries also have quiet support of their TLD registry from state agencies, with a more developed relationship than we have in Ireland. In at least one case, a state agency is (or is becoming) involved directly in the TLD registry. All of this without problem. If your legislators are inclined to regulate the Internet, the challenge is to persuade them to do "the right thing", and to keep their intervention at a helpful, rather than intrusive, level. At the end of the day, your legislators are in charge in your country. You have to recognise this, and restrict your own efforts to area where you can make a difference. Courage and good luck! Niall O'Reilly
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 1998 19:31:05 +0200 From: veni markovski <veni at isoc.bg> Subject: Urgent help required on possible Internet law in Bulgaria To: Paul Ridley <Paul.Ridley at ripe.net> Cc: Niall.oReilly at ucd.ie, burack at isoc.org, Daniel.Karrenberg at ripe.net, heath at isoc.org, vcerf at mci.net, brian at hursley.ibm.com, martin at terena.nl
Paul, friends, colleagues very urgent matter:
A member of the Bulgarian parlament called me today, asking to provide him with information about possible legislature in European countries and the US about ISP licensing, Internet laws, etc.
Could you: a) point me to web sites where I can find this b) briefly inform me what's the current status in your country or in any other that you are familiar with?
The Bulgarian government has proposed a draft decree to license Internet services and regulate information spread over the net in Bulgaria.
Please, advise. Your help will be more than jus appreciated.
Sincerely,
Veni Markovski, Chairmain, the Internet Society - Bulgaria, http://www.isoc.bg, http://www.bulgaria.com/isoc/, http://www.bol.bg/isoc/ phone: (+359-2) 9809666, phone/fax (+359-2) 805012 mailing address: p.o.box 71, Sofia 1164, Bulgaria *** Because e-mail can be altered electronically, the integrity of this communication cannot be guaranteed.
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