Statement By President Bill Clinton
Today
I am pleased to sign into law S. 2392, the "Year 2000 Information
and Readiness Disclosure Act." As our nation prepares for the year
2000 (Y2K), we face an urgent need to address the Y2K problem, which may
cause computers and embedded systems that run America's critical infrastructure
to malfunction or even shut down. With little over a year until January
1, 2000, this is a serious global challenge that businesses and governments
around the world must address.
Today, my Council on Year 2000 Conversion is launching "National
Y2K Action Week," to urge small- and medium-sized businesses to take
the necessary steps to ensure that the technologies they and their business
partners depend upon are ready for the year 2000. Over the next five days,
the Small Business Administration, the Department of Commerce and several
other federal agencies will host Y2K educational events at their field
offices across the nation. As part of this week, we are also urging state,
local, tribal governments, and community organizations to address this
critical problem. More than 160 national organizations representing industries,
professions, government, and the nonprofit sector have joined the Council
in promoting Y2K action during this week.
This legislation will help provide businesses, governments, and other
organizations with the necessary informational tools to overcome the Y2K
computer problem. This Act, which builds upon a proposal my Administration
submitted to the Congress in July, is an important bipartisan accomplishment.
I particularly want to thank those in the Congress whose hard work and
support of this legislation made its passage possible. Representatives
Horn, Kucinich, Morella, Barcia, Leach, LaFalce, Hyde, Conyers, Dreier,
and Eschoo and Senators Bennett, Dodd, Hatch, Leahy, and Kyl were integral
to getting this work done and done quickly.
Many organizations have been reluctant to share valuable information
about their experiences in dealing with the Y2K problem or the status
of their Y2K efforts for fear of lawsuits. The Act's limited liability
protections will promote and encourage greater information sharing about
both experiences and solutions, which will significantly enhance public
and private sector efforts to prepare the Nation's computer systems for
the new millennium. However, the bill will not affect liability that may
arise from Y2K failures of systems or devices. While I understand that
companies have a wide range of concerns related to the Y2K transition
and potential litigation, we must also protect the rights of consumers.
Therefore, this legislation is focused exclusively on exposure related
to information exchange and would not cover statements to individual consumers
in marketing a product normally used for personal use.
Firms within an industry confront similar challenges as they work to
ensure that their computer systems are Y2K compliant. Although the Department
of Justice has already indicated that competitors in an industry who merely
share information on Y2K solutions would not be in violation of the antitrust
laws, this Act creates a specific exemption from the antitrust laws for
these activities. The limited antitrust exemption created by S. 2392 will
make it easier for firms to cooperate with one another to solve the Y2K
problem while continuing to protect consumers from industry agreements
to boycott, allocate a market, or fix prices or output.
Information sharing will be important not only to those who have already
made progress addressing the Y2K problem, but also to the many small business
and State, local, and tribal governments that are just beginning their
Y2K work. I urge trade associations and umbrella organizations to collect
such information from their members and provide it to others through websites
and other means devoted to discussing Y2K experiences and solutions. My
Council on Year 2000 Conversion looks forward to working with Federal
agencies, other levels of government, and consumer and industry groups
in expanding the website, www.y2k.gov, that already supports activities
related to our Nation's efforts to address issues related to the Y2K transition.
The Y2K problem is an enormous challenge, and we must meet it. Enactment
of this legislation is a significant achievement toward allowing all of
us to take a successful step into the new millennium.
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