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By Suzanna Kerridge, 18 August 1999 00:15

NEWS The balance of power between government and industry is likely to shift dramatically in favour of business, according to Web visionary Esther Dyson. Speaking in an exclusive video interview with Silicon.com, Dyson said the power is moving away from governments and towards companies looking to regulate their own activities on the Web. "The Internet takes power away from anything big, whether it is a government or mass media. Secondly, governments have to compete and if they don't like the rules in the UK they can virtually move to the US. I know of lots of companies with Web sites in the US and so suddenly the power is on the other side," she said. Government has to be seen to encourage self-regulation, said Dyson, and the only way to achieve this is to educate users. "I think regulation should come from below and from the players and not be stuck over it by a government. What I mean is having consumers with enough information and education to make good choices and to pick what they want in terms of products, prices, condition and privacy," she added. However, Dyson claimed government must not impose its own regulatory powers on the Internet. Instead, she said, independent bodies such as Trustee should be relied upon to establish "basic disclosure and honesty" rules. But the UK has yet to adopt this approach, she said. "I hope this is something the UK adopts because if you look at the US experience it is working. It is not perfect, there are abuses of power but things are happening which are really positive. I think the UK is on the cusp of making good or bad decisions." The full interview with Esther Dyson can be viewed in Silicon.com's Politics Channel.