There is widespread fear that the government does not have the technical savvy and foot-speed to keep up with something as vast and ever-changing as the software industry. In the past, bureaucratic interference into high technology has had mixed results. Throughout the 1970s, the Department of Justice waged a massive antitrust war against IBM. This ended up to just be a waste of taxpayer money and everyone's time. In the end, IBM faltered and fell due to their own mistakes and the ceaseless innovation of their competitors. [*]

"The government can only make things worse" is the implied sentiment behind much of what Microsoft and its allies are saying. "Poorly informed lawyers have no vocation for software design," Microsoft griped in their legal response[*] to the Department of Justice's motion to hold them in contempt. (Complete analysis here.) The perception of Washington as out-of-touch, Byzantine, and unable to grasp what is really going on in the high-tech world is fairly pervasive. Many are suspicious of government's motives and intelligence, especially in the wake of heavy-handed attempts at Internet censorship like the CDA. This neo-libertarian viewpoint is well exemplified by HotWired commentator Jon Katz, in a recent column.[*].He writes "I'd rather have Gates controlling the Internet than Orrin Hatch."

Indeed, even Microsoft's enemies are wary of inviting more regulation into the industry. Scott McNealy and Jim Barksdale have made it very clear that they believe this problem can be solved with the laws that are already on the books. "We don't think the outcome of this meeting should result in new legislation or regulation," [*] Barksdale told the Judiciary Committee. It is somewhat ironic to see a rabid libertarian like Scott McNealy come before a government panel demanding their interference in business.

Microsoft's Chief Technology Officer Nathan Myhrvold put it plainly, "The specter here is of a Federal Bureau of Operating Systems." While many smaller companies have no deep loyalty to Microsoft, they fear new laws that would force government regulation of software products, or require government approval at any stage in the cycle of development.