Internet craze discuss at panel

About 70 people crowded into the King's Court Blue Lounge Tuesday night to hear a panel discussion on the continuing craze over the internet and telecommunications. Government regulation of the internet and its effect on everyday life were among the issues bandied about at the debate. The panelists included Professor of Computer and Information Sciences David Farber and Dan Updegrove, executive director of Data Communications and Computing Services. The University's Information Security Officer David Millar, and Andrea MacDonald, a graduate studentat the Annenberg School for Communication, also participated. The debate was framed aroundtwo questions: "How has the internet positively affected the world?" and "What are the negative effects of the internet?" The panelists gave a wide range of answers to the questions, but all agreed that the internet contains both exciting opportunities and dangerous risks. "Data networks have changed the world at all levels," said Farber, addressing the positive aspects of the internet. "Cultures are changing. The cultures are beginning to stew. Europe and Asia are now only a few milliseconds apart." Updegrove echoed Farber's sentiments. "In some ways the internet is bringing [people] closer together," Updegrove said. On the flip side, he noted, "People are playing MUD for hours instead of doing their term papers." Government intervention in e-mail communication was the most serious problem noted at the debate. Discussion focused around the proposed Clipper Program, a project that allows the federal government to screen the mail on the internet. Farber spoke of Digital Telephony, a type of tapping on the Internet. "That is a type of peeking in your house we have never known in America," Farber said. "It is a bittersweet dish we have created. Privacy will be the defining problem ofthe next 10 years." The discussion was followed by a 40-minute question and answer session. The organizers of the discussion said they were pleased with the topics discussed as well as the overflow crowd. "I was very happy with the turnout," said Engineering sophomore Daryl Chertcoff, an organizer of the debate. "I think we addressed the issues that we wanted to." College freshman Justin Shellaway, an English House computer room consultant, said after the event that he underestimated the number of those interested in the internet. "I was surprised that the room was so full," he said. "It's hard to believe that there are so many internet addicts at Penn."