The McGraw-Hill Companies Chairman and CEO Urges Software and Content Providers to Work Together to Eliminate Obstacles to Internet Growth.

Business Editors/High Tech Writers

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 22, 2000

"It is imperative for software and content providers to establish and reinforce the appropriate rules of the road on the global information highway," Harold McGraw III, chairman and CEO of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), told a gathering of the nation's information industry leaders today.

"We need to provide solutions to such critical issues as digital rights management, network security, customer privacy and intellectual property protection," he said in an address to the Software & Information Industry Association's (SIIA) Monetizing Digital Content: Enabling Technologies and Tactics for Information Providers Conference. The conference highlighted strategies, opportunities and technologies for distributing content, conducting commerce and creating community in the online setting.

"Napster opened the eyes of the recording industry around the world to online sales possibilities, but also to the dark side of the Internet," Mr. McGraw remarked. "There are a variety of means both legal and technical to safeguard our content. Therefore, we must identify the priorities and provide solutions."

Mr. McGraw praised the district court for its initial decision in the Napster case. However, he warned that, "we cannot rely on the courts to do our bidding. We must collaborate in order to find solutions for many areas where works are vulnerable because of a lack of adequate protection. We'll need to adapt our business models to meet customers' expectations. It's critical that we provide enabling products and services, which individuals need and want to help them do their jobs, and for which they are willing to pay," he said.

Mr. McGraw urged software and content providers to do things differently. In response to a recent SIIA report stating that fully 55% of online users were unwilling to pay for news on the Internet, Mr. McGraw emphasized the need to "think more creatively. We must help the public recognize that quality and dependable information is worth a price."

Citing examples from his company's experience in financial services, education and business-to-business information, Mr. McGraw stated that, "As technology changes with dizzying speed, so too, must the rules. For the full potential of the Internet to be tapped, many of the concepts that have served in the `old economy' must be transferred to the 'new economy'."

He identified efforts to enact legislation to regulate what companies can and cannot do with personal information conveyed online as a major threat to Internet growth. Mr. McGraw urged members to make sure self-regulation works, so as to eliminate the need for "restrictive laws."

"Industry has an opportunity and responsibility in the area of privacy to demonstrate that it will accommodate consumer demands. Now is the time for all Web site owners who collect and use personal data to develop, disclose and enforce strong customer privacy policies," he said.

Concluding his address, Mr. McGraw said "We must seize this moment to make certain the digital marketplace develops as a friendly and profitable market segment, so the prosperity and economic growth we have sustained spreads to the rest of the world."

The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) is the principal trade association of the software code and digital content industries, representing more than 1,000 leading high-tech companies that publish software and electronic content for business, education, and consumer markets. SIIA was created through a merger of the Software Publishers Association and the Information Industry Association.

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, Business Week and McGraw-Hill Education. The corporation has more than 400 offices in 32 countries. Sales in 1999 were $4.0 billion. Additional information is available at mcgraw-hill.com (www.mcgraw-hill.com).