One of the ground-breaking aspects of the conference, or so I was told, was that representatives from the private sector were allowed to attend. It wasn't easy to watch. Members of the laissez-faire faction had apparently not been invited to comment. Government and business were destined, all agreed, to work hand in hand to achieve the magical, revolutionary electronic economy of the future. Call me a skeptic, but I'm not convinced.
Governments do have an important role to play, but it's the same one they've always had.
Enforcing existing laws and providing a judicial forum where private parties can settle disputes is challenging enough. Perhaps that's typical of intergovernmental meetings, but given the revolutionary nature of the subject, I had hoped for more. On the other hand, since the first G7 Ministerial Conference on the Information Society held in Brussels in February 1995, governments have done little except agree to agree to study the issues. Meanwhile, in the real world, E-Com has been progressing at lightning speed. So perhaps the conference was useful after all.