The IT Law Wiki

Citation[]

House of Lords, Select Committee on Science and Technology, Information Society: Agenda for Action in the UK (1996) (full-text).

Overview[]

This report outlines the new information technologies, the infrastructure in the UK, and some of the approaches and policies other countries, and the EU are adopting.

Numerous recommendations were made. These include the establishment of an Information Society Task Force in the UK, similar to the US; fundamental changes to the regulatory framework (such as the review of the restrictions on telecommunications companies either conveying or providing broadcast entertainment services in their own right, a code of practice for the Internet Service Providers Association; specific actions to be taken by government, including the promotion of electronic publishing to facilitate widespread access to Government publications.

The Committee also made recommendations on the subjects of universal access, e.g. free use of the Internet by using terminals placed in public spaces such as libraries, post offices etc.; education, e.g. Free Computers for Education scheme; health care, e.g. E-mail connection for all NHS departments; environmental benefits, e.g. tele- and flexi-working; electronic publishing and archiving; encryption and verification; grants to facilitate the use of IT.