AFFIRMATIVE — COUNTERPLAN — FREE MARKET — ANSWERS 94

INDIVIDUAL ACTION WITH P.E.T.S WILL FAIL

ULTIMATELY THE P.E.T. APPROACH FAILS

Tom Foremski: Financial Times (London), July 7, 1999, SECTION: SURVEY - FT IT REVIEW; Pg. 04 TITLE: Concern in US over new technologies: PRIVACY Web sites can already build up a detailed personal file on each visitor. // acs-EE2001

In the same way that the internet allows companies to collect personal data, it can also be used to protect such data. Several companies are offering online services that automatically encrypt e-mail, for example, and strip identifying information from e-mail messages in an attempt to guarantee anonymity. And data profiling services such as Novell's Digitalme potentially offer individuals control over personal data collected online.

Yet while such services are useful, they ultimately lack the necessary legal protections.

WE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO USE ELABORATE SOFTWARE PROGRAMS TO PROTECT OUR PRIVACY, IT SHOULD BE A RIGHT

Jeffrey Rosen, associate professor at the George Washington University Law School, The New York Times April 30, 2000, SECTION: Section 6; Page 46; TITLE: The Eroded Self // acs-EE2001

But should people be forced to resort to esoteric encryption technology with names like ZipLip and Zero-Knowledge every time they want to send e-mail or browse the Web? Until anonymous browsers become widespread enough to be socially acceptable, their Austin Powers-like aura may deter all but the most secretive users who have something serious to hide. Moreover, every technological advance for privacy will eventually provoke a technological response. For this reason, some privacy advocates, like Marc Rotenberg, the director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, argue that anonymity on the Internet should be a legal right, rather than something achieved with a commercial product.