NEGATIVE-PRIVACY-SOLVENCY-GENERAL 117

TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE MAKES PRIVACY PROTECTION IMPOSSIBLE

PAST SOLUTIONS TO PRIVACY PROBLEMS WILL NOT WORK IN

THE 21STCENTURY

Colin J. Bennett & Rebecca Grant, Assoc. Prof. Of Political Science & Assoc. Prof. of Business, both at University of Victoria (BC), VISIONS OF PRIVACY: Policy Choices for the Digital Age, "Introduction "1 1999, EE2001-JGM, p.3

The overriding theme of this book is whether the privacy solutions of the past are equal to the surveillance challenges of the future. When most of the world's privacy legislation was written, in the 1970s and 1980s, privacy invasions were national in character, discretely connected to an identifiable individual or set of individuals, perpetuated more often by agencies of the state than by private corporations, and generally more connected to the practices that surrounded independent, I stand-alone' databases. Now personal information is dispersed and accessible from a multitude of remote locations. It is collected, matched, traded, and profiled as part of the routine engagement with both public and private institutions. It moves openly across borders. It knows fewer national or organizational attachments. There is a new landscape for privacy protection policy.

IN THE PRIVACY FIELD REGULATION MAY NOT BE ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCE

Matt Reed, New Media Age, December 2, 1999; Pg. 23 TITLE: Protecting personal data// acs-VT2001

While it is easy to be alarmist about privacy, there is little doubt that as our lives are increasingly documented online it will continue to be a key area of legitimate concern. There must also be some doubts as to whether regulation can keep up with the pace of technological advance.