Feds technologically outmatched, group says

The government should focus on solving its own computer problems instead of trying to regulate the high-tech industry through litigation against Microsoft, a report released Tuesday said.

According to Citizens Against Government Waste, the Justice Department's attempt to enforce antitrust laws in the high-tech industry is akin to throwing rocks in a glass house. The report suggested that government is in no position to interfere in the technology industry because it is not a leader in the field. Federal agencies are technologically incompetent, the report said, citing missed Y2K compliance deadlines and outdated computer inventories as examples of government computer ineptitude.

"The federal crusade against Microsoft and the recent attack on Intel, for example, presume the government commands the expertise to control the dynamic information technology marketplace. Such arrogance is highly questionable considering the state of the government's own computers," the report said.

Citizens Against Government Waste, a nonprofit citizen advocacy group, issued the report as part of its Through the Looking Glass investigative series. The report is available at the group's Web site.