AFFIRMATIVE-CONSUMER/INTERNET-INHERENCY 361

INDUSTRY LOBBYING PREVENTS THE STATUS QUO FROM PROTECTING PRIVACY

PRIVACY LEGISLATION IS CONTROLLED BY LARGE BUSINESSES AND INDUSTRY

Gregory Shaffer, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Wisconsin Law School, Winter, 2000; Journal of International Law, 25 Yale J. Int'l L. 1 , "Globalization and Social Protection: The Impact of EU and International Rules in the Ratcheting Up of U.S. Privacy Standards," EE2001hxm lxnx

The market for regulation encounters the same characteristics of wellfinanced groups with clearly defined, high per capita stakes being more active and effective players than dispersed consumers with less clearly defined, low per capita stakes. n147 Businesses better promote their interests before Congress [*36] and administrative bodies than do individual consumers facing considerable collective action problems. n 148 When the Department of Commerce asks for comments on draft privacy guidelines, comments stream in from large multinational corporations and business associations. n149 As a result of successful industry lobbying, industry remains the dominant regulator of information privacy standards in the United States, resulting in fewer constraints on the collection, use, and commodification of personal information.

INTERNET FIRMS, WHICH PEVIOUSLY AVOIDED WASHINGTON LOBBYING, ARE NOW ENGAGED IN IT FULL FORCE

JUBE SHIVER Jr., TIMES STAFF WRITER, Los Angeles Times, March 12, 2000, SECTION: Part A; Page 1; TITLE: INTERNET FIRMS GAIN FOOTHOLD IN WASHINGTON// acs-VT2001

The presence of so many Internet companies in Washington represents an about-face for an industry that once fancied itself too busy inventing the future to worry about government policy. And at least one high-tech executive, Cypress Semiconductor President T.J. Rodgers, calls the cozying up to federal bureaucrats a "major mistake."

But as the Internet and computer technology have moved into the mainstream of American life--and as high-tech stalwarts such as Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp. have come under government scrutiny--the relationship between Internet marketers and the government is becoming more charged.

INTERNET LOBBYISTS ARE RUSHING TO GAIN INFLUENCE IN WASHINGTON

JUBE SHIVER Jr., TIMES STAFF WRITER, Los Angeles Times, March 12, 2000, SECTION: Part A; Page 1; TITLE: INTERNET FIRMS GAIN FOOTHOLD IN WASHINGTON// acs-VT2001

Girding for battle over Internet taxation, online privacy, data protection and other key cyberspace issues, a wave of dot-com companies is setting up shop in Washington.

In recent weeks, EBay, Amazon.com, Excite@Home Corp. and the Internet marketing giant DoubleClick Inc., among others, have hired Washington lobbying staffs, rented office space and stepped up political giving to influence whether and how the federal government regulates the multibillion-dollar electronic commerce industry.

The companies join Yahoo, which opened up a Washington office last year, and arrive on the heels of NetCoalition.com's creation last July. NetCoalition.com is the first Washington lobbying group of purely Internet-based companies and includes founding members America Online, Inktomi Corp., Lycos Inc. and the-globe.com, as well as three of the four companies now opening permanent Washington offices.

BUSINESS LOBBYISTS PREVENT PROTECTION OF CONSUMER DATA

Conrad deFiebre; Star Tribune Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) January 9, 2000, SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1A // acs-EE2001

All this is going on, legislators acknowledge, without much spontaneous public outcry but amid a herd of business lobbyists seeking to limit the restrictions on lucrative "data-mining."

The lobbyists may be aided by the complexity of the issues.

DATA USER INDUSTRY IS STALLING NEW PRIVACY INITIATIVES

Joel R. Reidenberg, Professor of Law and Director of Graduate Program Academic Affairs, Fordham University School of Law, " Restoring Americans' Privacy in Electronic Commerce," Berkeley Technology Law Journal, Spring, 1999, 14 Berkeley Tech. L.J. 771, EE2001-JGM, P. 771

Another important privacy initiative likewise remains unavailable even after three years of development and government encouragement. Internet labeling and filtering technology based on the world wide web's protocol, Platform for Internet Content Selection ("PICS,") has been under development for a privacy application, the Platform for Privacy Preferences  [*779]  ("P3P"), since 1996. n35 The World Wide Web Consortium ("W3C") n36, an influential standards setting body for the Internet, has led the development effort for P3P technology. Yet after three years, W3C has still not obtained sufficient industry agreement to conclude the development phase, let alone find companies willing to implement the technology. In addition, P3P faces a patent licensing problem that jeopardizes its ultimate adoption by industry. n37