Rev. 1.1 23 March 1989" "This paper was originally written for Course TPP32,: "Law, Technology, and Public Policy" Massachusetts Institute of Technology..." "The emergence of new technologies forces us to ask whether our laws provide the proper balance between protecting us from potentially harmful consequences of those technologies, and allowing us to reap the benefits. The development of nanotechnology... will seriously challenge the ability of our regulatory system to respond quickly and to maintain the critical balance between dangers and benefits. Nanotechnology will affect regulations in most areas, from banking and commerce to air safety and toxic waste. This paper concentrates on regulations to assure that molecular machines and their products are developed in a safe and responsible manner. This paper aims to: .1 flag nanotechnology as an important area for technology policy research, 2. highlight some issues related to regulating nanotechnology, and 3. provide an approach toward constructing a regulatory framework for nanotechnology." Includes bibliographical references.

Overview; Paths to nanotechnology -- General implications -- Nanotechnology is an area for immediate technology policy research -- Regulatory issues; Freedom-the most critical issue (far term); When to regulate; Four phases of regulatory control; Standards enforcement as a regulatory framework; Consensus standards; Standards enforcement; Standards before and aftter active shields; access to open assemblers; issues not adequately addressed by existing laws -- National defense -- Summary -- Acknowledgements --References.