June 1980 | Special Publication SP-80-8
The Foundations of United States Information Policy: A United States Government Submission to the High-Level Conference on Information, Computer, and Communications Policy – Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development October 6–8, 1980 Paris, France
Cite This Publication
Arthur A. Bushkin and Jane H. Yurow, “The Foundations of United States Information Policy: A United States Government Submission to the High-Level Conference on Information, Computer, and Communications Policy – Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development October 6–8, 1980 Paris, France ,” Special Publication SP-80-8, U.S. Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Institute for Telecommunication Sciences, June 1980.
Arthur A. Bushkin and Jane H. Yurow
Abstract: A nation’s international information policies do not exist in a vacuum, but rather are an extension of its domestic information policy perspectives. Thus, before any nation can adequately represent the interests of its own society in international forums, it must be cognizant of the objectives of its domestic information policies and it must evaluate their continuing validity and responsiveness to current developments. While the need for this understanding is not new, the pace of technological development has given new impetus to such deliberations within the United States and other nations as well.
This paper describes the focus of these deliberations in the United States. Certain fundamental policy assumptions emerge as the foundation of United States policies, although there is a need to strike balances in the significant tensions among these assumptions. This paper presents these assumptions as they manliest themselves in the information policies of the United States, and highlights the tradeoffs which they imply. The policies presented herein form the principles upon which the United States generally approaches international information policy issues.
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