In his keynote address, Dr. John Gage, science office director at Sun Microsystems, emphasized that huge technological advances in the Internet society in recent years have greatly affected basic concepts of freedom of speech. He predicted that this evolution of freedom of speech will continue. He cited the Internet's capacity to transfer massive amounts of capital across international boundaries as an example of the newly expanded definition of freedom of speech in the cyberspace age.

One problem Gage cited centers on possible taxation of financial transfers and the potential taxation of all Internet activities. Gage cited this as an example of the type of clash between new technology and old ways of management or government. Though financial transfers conducted according to traditional business practices are liable to taxation, Internet transfers are not, much to the displeasure of some U.S. lawmakers. Gage noted that current laws are restricted to particular areas while the Internet technology moves across boundaries.

Panelists David Farber, professor from the University of Pennsylvania, Shunpei Kumon, professor at International University of Japan and Kaori Sasaki, president of UNICUL International, Inc. took up the themes of possible new problems and promises created by the expanding cyberspace world.

One problem mentioned by Farber concerned the potential clash between the Internet and government over issues like some government officials' call for a reversal of wiretapping laws to permit greater access to Internet activities.

Kumon foresaw a possible constraint on freedom of speech at the group level. He noted that different communities on the Internet have different value systems and he saw potential clashes between these communities.

Though not denying that such problems exist, Sasaki preferred to emphasize the potential for greater freedom and greater self-fulfillment offered by the new technology. She recalled her own experience as a mother who was able to continue working thanks to the Internet.

Other topics brought up in the panel discussion, which was entitled, "Individuals' rights and freedom of speech in the Internet society," included the view that Internet society is "pure" because details like a person's age or religion are unknown; the broaching of the question of at what government level accountability should occur; and the question of the Internet's role in expanding or decreasing the gap between "haves" and "have-nots."

The question-and-answer session returned to the session's main theme of individual rights and freedom of speech with comments on topics like encryption chips in cellular phones and the very meaning of democracy in the Internet age.

Though the session closed with no real solutions to the many problems addressed, Moderator Jiro Kokuryo, associate professor at Keio University in Tokyo, praised participants for their efforts in promoting a meaningful dialogue on the ever-widening number of topics related to the Internet.