Government agencies liken the Internet to the "digital equivalent of the Wild West" and now a report by the U.S. Department of Justice outlines how the future of policing the Web should defined, the New York Times reports.

The "Electronic Frontier: The Challenge of Unlawful Conduct Involving the Use of the Internet" report says new laws should follow three principles: they need to be technologically neutral; offline and online crimes should be treated the same; and privacy issues need to have priority to help foster e-commerce.

The biggest challenge officials have when trying to track down cyber criminals is being able to locate and identify them, but a variety of groups have reported successes. State attorneys general in Minnesota and New York have managed to prosecute Internet gambling operations. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is establish a working relationship with G-8 countries to crack down on hackers. And the U.S. Customs Service has cooperated with Thailand authorities to shut down 18 pharmacies that were illegally shipping prescription drugs to the U.S., the Times reports.

There also is a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week law enforcement network that agencies from around the world can use to get help fighting cyber crimes.

Since 1995, the Federal Trade Commission has shut down 21 potentially fraudulent Web sites. The effort included assistance from 150 organizations in 28 countries on five continents, the newspaper reports. The FTC also has formed crime-busting alliances with the United States Postal Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Although taking a "hack" out of crime is necessary, there are those who say the nation's economy may suffer if authorities are allowed to regulate the Internet without some kind of oversight, the newspaper reports.

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