In particular, the two organizations hope to put forth a strong lobbying effort to protect its members' interests in Washington, where more than 100 Internet-related bills are currently under consideration. On a related note, self-regulation is also an important issue. The ISA and AOP hope to provide the necessary leadership to institute and enforce industry-wide standards. Although the Supreme Court eventually declared it unconstitutional, the CDA drove home the point that if the Internet can't regulate itself, the government will feel the need to step in. But we can't do this with temporary alliances or coalitions.
Every strong industry needs a strong association.
The AOP, founded in 1994 and headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, enjoys a membership of 1,000 service providers, manufacturers, and other companies, including Cisco Systems, 3Com Corp., US Robotics, and Ziff-Davis Interactive. In addition to lobbying and other political activities, AOP provides a means of networking with other professionals and works to promote its members' businesses. In addition to activities similar to the AOP's, the ISA concerns itself with such consumer issues as dealing with unsolicited bulk email and promoting privacy online. At present, the two organizations have only agreed to merge. The press release states that the boards of the two organizations will meet over the next 60 days to hammer out the details.