Information is a key component of today's political, social, and economic life.
Depending on whose, if any, statistics you believe, information services and products account for either the largest or the second largest sector of the U.S. economy, someplace between 10 and 12 percent of the gross domestic product. As that quote suggests, and as the G-7 leaders reminded us only last weekend, the importance of information is certainly not limited to the United States. It is already the world's largest single economic sector. Even this figure, however, does not represent the full importance of information and, therefore, the real significance of information in the world today. Certainly, noncommunications businesses rely as much on information services and products as do telephone companies and computer manufacturers, broadcasters, and software makers.