Warning over control of Internet

Governments should "tread warily" before trying to control the Internet, despite fears about it being used for terrorism or the spread of pornography, Science and Technology minister Ian Taylor said yesterday. He told the Commons at Question Time that he hoped a "highway code" for users would be drawn up in the coming weeks.

His comments came as President Bill Clinton said he was worried the Internet was aiding international terrorism by making it too easy for sinister forces to learn how to make bombs or produce nerve gas.

Mr Taylor said: "Governments should tread warily in trying to control the information on the Internet. If it's designed to survive a nuclear attack, it's likely to be resistant to government regulation."

But he added: "That does not mean to say that there is not a large onus on the network service providers to try to provide a highway code for potential purchasers of software and I'm encouraging them to do that, and I rather hope that we will see progress over the next few weeks."