Information technology and the Internet are driving U.S. economic growth and raising big questions about taxes and privacy, several news organizations report.
In the second major study in two weeks, the Commerce Department says information technology accounts for 35 percent of real economic growth in the U.S., CNN reports.
By 2006, nearly half the U.S. workforce will be employed by industries that are either major producers or users of information products and services.
Two weeks ago, a University of Texas study estimated the Internet had generated more than $301 billion in revenue last year and 1.2 million jobs.
That study found online purchases of goods and services worldwide from the U.S. generated nearly $102 billion, roughly 1 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product.
That Internet wealth could mean a big payoff in tax revenues. Efforts to tax Internet revenues are being studies by a congressional panel, the Associated Press reports.
Opening statements Monday by 17 of the 19 members of the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce showed that a majority believe the Internet cannot remain tax-free, AP reports.
"We must not allow the Internet to become a tax haven that drains the revenue governments need to provide the services that citizens demand," said commission member Joseph Guttentag, a top Treasury Department official.
The Internet also is the focus of growing concerns about Web addresses and privacy.
The Clinton administration's efforts to transfer responsibility for the Internet's addressing system to the private sector drew sharp criticism from a House Commerce Committee Tuesday as it opened a probe into the effort, Reuters reports.
Thomas Bliley, committee chairman, said he was "greatly concerned" that the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers -- the nonprofit group that the Clinton administration picked to run the system -- had exceeded its authority by deciding to impose a $1 fee on Internet Web site addresses.
Joe Sims, a lawyer representing ICANN defended the group's work, saying it had no power to force compliance and depended on reaching agreements with key players.
Internet privacy also is a matter of growing concern.
Microsoft Corp., which buys more Internet advertising than any other company in the world, will require Web sites on which it buys ads to publish adequate guarantees of consumer privacy, AP reports.
The giant software maker, which spent more than $34 million on Web ads last year, will review privacy statements for sites to ensure they meet federal guidelines.
Analysts estimate combined spending last year on Web ads totaled $2 billion.
Leading privacy advocates sharply criticized the $1 billion merger of Internet ad firm DoubleClick Inc. with consumer data collector Abacus Direct Corp., charging that the combined firm would collect too much personal data on consumers, Reuters reports.
The nonprofit Electronic Privacy Information Center and the privacy-oriented Web site Junkbusters said they expect to ask regulators to block the merger.
