On December 23, three officers and directors of the Association for the
Creation and Propagation of Internet Policies (A-TCPIP) and its working
group, the Domain Name Rights Coalition (DNRC), met with Ira Magaziner,
Senior Adviser for Policy Development at the White House, and Becky Burr,
Senior Policy Adviser for the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration at the Department of Commerce to discuss the future of U.S.
Internet policy. These meetings are part of an Administration initiative
to understand the complex issues of Internet governance and the many
different Internet stakeholders. The meetings, together with the comments
submitted in response to the Department of Commerce's Notice of Inquiry
last August, will assist the Administration in developing a transition plan
for Internet governance following expiration of the contract between the
National Science Foundation and Network Solutions, Inc., in 1998.

The Domain Name Rights Coalition represents entrepreneurs, small
businesses and individuals on the Internet and found Ira Magaziner and
Becky Burr receptive to their concerns. "The Domain Name Rights Coalition
discussed with Mr. Magaziner and Ms. Burr the importance of maintaining
the Internet as a place for communication of all forms: for individuals,
organizations and corporations, and for personal, political and commercial
speech," said DNRC's General Counsel Kathryn Kleiman. "We expressed our
concern that, if policy makers think of the Internet only in terms of
electronic commerce, they will wind up putting rules into place that
penalize all other forms of speech on the Internet."

Mike Doughney, DNRC Vice President and co-founder of Internet service
provider DIGEX in Beltsville, MD, was pleased with the Administration's
receptiveness to the needs of small businesses and entrepreneurs: "The
Domain Name Rights Coalition discussed the role of entrepreneurs and small
businesses in building the Internet and providing many of the Internet's
most innovative services. We found that the Administration took seriously
the role of entrepreneurs and agreed that keeping open opportunities for
new businesses should be a priority of Internet policies."

DNRC Assistant General Counsel Harold Feld, an attorney with the
Washington D.C. Office of Covington and Burling, commented, "Good decisions
can only come from open, inclusive processes. This meeting encourages me
that we are moving in the right direction. Mr. Magaziner and Ms. Burr were
informed on the issues and sensitive to our concerns. It looks like they
really care about all Internet stakeholders."

Kleiman added: "We encourage groups who have an interest in protecting
free speech and the entrepreneurial spirit of the Internet to contact the
Administration and to contact the Domain Name Rights Coalition."

The Domain Name Rights Coalition website can be found at http://www.domain
-name.org. It includes information regarding DNRC concerns about the
International Ad Hoc Committee, the International Policy Oversight
Committee, and World Intellectual Property Organization.