Setting standards on the information superhighway

Who should set the technical standards for hardware and software used on the information superhighway? For some things, government agencies such as the FCC will consider it their responsibility or right, but the government is oblivious to many standardization issues and it indefinitely delays acting on others. If vendors do not act, delay and chaos may result. Even when the government acts, vendors may try to influence the outcome, seeking to slant technical standards in favor of their own products. It is argued that all of this may lead them and the new standards organizations they form, or existing ones that they use, into legal controversies.<>