The U.S. Commerce Department has withdrawn from a new service that searches government Web sites and databases after critics charged that the fee-based project violated the Clinton administration’s promise to make the Internet and government data more accessible.
After a three-week free-trial period, the USgovsearch service began charging fees June 14. However, Northern Light Technology, the firm that developed the venture in partnership with the National Technical Information Service, said that it would make the service available free to public libraries and schools, and dropped the price for one-day access from $15 to $5.
The New York Times noted June 15 that the lack of government participation will not limit the service’s offerings, since it searches publicly available databases. However, the decision means a loss of potential income for NTIS, which would have received half the fees, although the agency will still collect revenue when users purchase reports through the service.
Posted June 21, 1999.