HANDS OFF GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF INTERNET

President Clinton wants the government to take a hands-off stance toward the Internet. At the same time, he wants to ensure patent, privacy and copyright safety.

Clinton seems to see himself as the guy in the white hat -- ready to tame the Internet to guarantee a secure online marketplace for American business. He describes electronic commerce as the Wild West of the global economy.

No thanks, partner.

Americans are well used to the drill by now. Anytime the government wants to set the guidelines, stand back. The rules of the game suddenly change.

And those rules come in volume after volume of tedious and technical regulations that strangle free commerce and small business. Bureaucrats can write red tape faster than most of us can even consider the options.

For one thing, America doesn't own the Internet. It is a truly global community.

Government should leave the Internet to old-fashioned American ingenuity. For example, several major computer corporations are already at work putting secure billing and payment processes online.

It would allow customers to pay credit card or local electric company bills on the Internet via electronic banking. No longer will the check be in the mail. It will be on the Net.

And that is just the beginning. A growing number of goods and services are already available for sale online.

The U.S. Supreme Court has already nipped efforts to limit objectionable material on the Internet. The high court ruled in late June that a congressional attempt to keep pornography off the World Wide Web violated the Constitution's First Amendment.

Many parents and others agreed with Congress' attempt to restrict indecent or patently offensive materials online where it could be found by children.

But the court has spoken, and the government and others should heed the message.

Clinton said the Internet should be a place where government makes every effort not to stand in the way, to do no harm.

The president should follow his own advice.