DISADVANTAGES — CONSUMER/INTERNET — KILLS THE INTERNET 426

LINK: PRIVACY PROTECTIONS

PRIVACY REGULATION OF THE INTERNET WILL KILL IT

Mike Butcher, New Media Age, November 18, 1999; Pg. 26 TITLE: Privacy plays on US morality mind// acs-VT2001

Privacy is tallying up to be perhaps the biggest issue the US Internet industry will ever face. With entire revenue streams built on being able to target advertising and e-commerce offers based on users' personal profiles, the industry there has been chilled to the core by indications that the federal government wants to call time on the indiscriminate cookieing, profiling and data swapping by the online companies.

THE FUTURE OF THE FREE INTERNET DEPENDS ON THE RIGHT BALANCE BETWEEN INFORMATION AND PRIVACY

Wendy Muller, is managing director of DoubleClick Canada, Strategy, May 8, 2000 SECTION: Perspectives; OpinionPg. 20 TITLE: The high cost of Net privacy // acs-EE2001

In setting standards, we all must remember one important thing: The future of a free Internet must involve both the protection of individual online privacy and the ability of online advertisers to compete and deliver effective ads.

PRIVACY IS AT ODDS WITH THE NEW ECONOMY'S FREEDOM OF INFORMATION MODEL

William D. Chalmers, The San Francisco Chronicle, APRIL 30, 2000, SECTION: SUNDAY CHRONICLE; Pg. 1/Z1 TITLE: There's No Business Like Your Business // acs-EE2001

So what's the cure for our information anxiety? Can we put the genie back in the bottle? Maybe, but it's clear that the New Economy/dot-com moguls' idea of protecting our privacy, like many of their new business model manifestos, are upside-down. Their so-called "opt out" program is absurd. Your options are to either allow them to use your private data or "opt out" and click away to another Web site. Not much of a choice, really, when they all have the same policy. In fact, the very notion of privacy is anathema to the New Economy's free-flow-of-information philosophy.

IT IS PUBLIC POLICY DECISIONS, LIKE PRIVACY, WHICH WILL SHAPE THE INTERNET, NOT NEW TECHNOLOGY

Barbara Young, senior vice president of the Financial & Professional Services Group of Shandwick-Minneapolis, Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) March 20, 2000, SECTION: BUSINESS; Pg. 3D TITLE: The thundering privacy train; Unless some of the steam is let out of this issue, businesses, consumers and the economy all could be derailed // acs-VT2001

America Online CEO Steve Case has said that public policy decisions are more important to the growth of the Internet Economy than technological advances _ a statement he's acted upon in buying Time Warner. Clearly, a hasty decision on the part of policymakers to reduce or eliminate businesses' ability to exchange information will cripple corporations, reduce services to average citizens and effectively hobble electronic commerce.

WE MUST BALANCE PRIVACY AND THE CONCERN FOR A FREE AND ROBUST INTERNET

Jennifer M. Granholm, attorney general of Michigan, The Detroit News March 8, 2000, SECTION: Editorial Page; Pg. 14 TITLE: Online privacy is worth state's protection // acs-VT2001

The Internet is a powerful, wonderful tool. We cannot assume, however, that the online world exists -- or should exist -- independently of our "real" one. What happens on the Web absolutely affects what happens in the world. Balancing personal privacy with the need for a robust and innovative Web should be a priority for all those interested in seeing the Internet flourish.

PRIVACY THREATENS TO SABOTAGE THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY REVOLUTION

RANDOLPH COURT; technology policy analyst, Progressive Policy Institute, The New Democrat, February, 1999 / March, 1999; Pg. 30 TITLE: PUBLIC INTEREST IN PRIVATE MATTERS; The Search for Balance Between Privacy and the Common Good in the Cyber Age // acs-VT2001

The information technology revolution has opened a new world of possibilities for the economy and for democratic society. Just about everyone in Washington can agree on that much. But under this shiny new vehicle's hood are a growing number of knocks and pings, along with at least one constant screech -- the nagging question of individual privacy, a polarizing issue if ever there was one.

PRIVACY WILL BE THE MOST CRITICAL ISSUE IN DECIDING THE FUTURE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Herbert W. Lovelace, InformationWeek, August 16, 1999, Pg. 104, TITLE: Trust Us, We'll Protect You -- Once Again, Our Society Faces Important Decisions About Government Involvement And Personal Privacy // acs-VT2001

We are at the beginning of a set of interlocking decisions concerning such issues as taxation, encryption, and right to access which will influence society far beyond the boundaries of IT. For years we have been struggling with the meaning-and the limits-of arguably the most important decision: individual privacy in the Internet era.