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Everywhere you turn today in the business world, and-increasingly-- in the legal world, the focus is on the Internet. The impact of electronic commerce and communications on businesses across the globe is growing exponentially. Not surprisingly, the rise in the number of attorneys who specialize in "cyberlaw" is proportional to the surge in business concerns that either constitute or utilize the Internet. Although many involved in these business ventures argue forcefully for state and federal governments to continue their "hands-off" policies, when it comes to the Net, lawyers know quite well that the law cannot be so patient and that some legal standards and legal protections are required.
To flourish, any multi-billion-dollar global industry must have legal standards as generally known and accepted as its technical standards. In addition, the growing number of consumers using e-commerce inevitably will lead to greater advocacy among consumer protection groups. This Article discusses the current and prospective role of the leading group of state consumer protection regulators-the state attorneys general-and the direction these state officials may be heading in this important legal and policy debate.
During the drafting of this Article, the lead author was, in fact, a state attorney general and an active participant in the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) Internet Committee. This Committee continues to work toward educating state legislators and regulators about the Internet and its progeny, the Web and e-commerce, so that these officials better utilize technology in their work and learn how to address myriad consumer issues arising from developing technology. Partially as a result of this experience, however, this author recently decided to leave public office to become affiliated with a high-technology nonprofit organization devoted to advancing policies necessary for the New Economy and to enhance communications between elected officials and the high-technology and biotechnology industries1. Therefore, the authors hope that this experience offers a unique perspective to the related issues of the Internet, e-commerce, and state regulation.
I. STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL AND THE ROLE OF REGULATION
Clearly, the "hands-off" libertarian philosophy continues to enjoy support among many members of the high-tech industry. The members of this group (a shrinking constituency in the opinion of the authors) continue to argue that cyberspace both cannot and should not be regulated.
However,...