Consumers Are Key to Privacy Protection

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- When it comes to regulating online privacy protection, there seems to be only one thing that everyone here on Capitol Hill can agree on: Consumers need to be better informed.

The Senate Republican High Tech Task Force hosted a talk titled "Internet Privacy: The Pros and Cons of Legislative and Market Solutions," featuring a panel comprising speakers representing all areas of the technology community, from public policy organizations to leading online merchandisers.

Panelists debated the pros and cons of using legislation to restrict the sharing of personal information on the Internet.

Laws Lead the Way

Panelist Doug Comer, director of governmental relations for Intel, says consumers' concerns about sharing their personal data online may inhibit them from getting information that's vital to maintaining high levels of consumer confidence.

"The consumer should have a certain right to know how their information is being used," Comer says.

He adds that it would be in consumers' best interests for Congress to move forward in setting some basic ground rules for how information is shared, creating a partnership between the law and the public's own self-regulation.

Jerry Berman, executive director for the Center for Democracy and Technology, agrees on the minimal regulation issue. He says that, while there is a fair amount of self-regulation today, "self-regulation won't take us all the way."

Berman says that consumers want to know three things: what information is collected about them, how this information is distributed, and whether they have the ability to authorize this distribution.

He agrees with Comer that current, self-imposed privacy policies can be enhanced by having some sort of minimal federal standard.

No Regulations Needed

James Harper, editor of Privacilla.org, a Web site that serves as a forum for Internet privacy discussion, opposes federal regulation and says the best policy is a free-market approach, allowing consumers to make their own decisions.

"My own assessment of privacy is that it is best regarded as an individual condition," Harper says, comparing it to "happiness" or "piety." Rather than crafting legislation to protect privacy, he argues that the Internet community should "distribute these decisions about how personal information is used to the people who make them."

Harper also contends that the Internet privacy issue may just solve itself in the future.

"The newness of the Internet has made the public nervous about information privacy," he says. He claims that people are much more educated now about information sharing on the Internet than they were just a few years ago, and that this knowledge will only increase in the future.

"We should not pass laws to protect ourselves from exaggerated fears of the unknown," Harper says.

Individual Preferences

Echoing some of Harper's points is Mark Uncapher, vice president and counsel of the Information Technology Association of America. Citing the Internet as a "highly interactive" medium, he says that individuals have different preferences and choices about how they want their information to be shared.

"Consumers are aware of their choices and are exercising these choices," he says. He adds that the future of the Internet is uncertain, especially with the development of broadband and wireless technologies, and that any government regulation at this point would be "premature."

Paul Misener, vice president of global public policy at Amazon.com, says that his company was one of the first to make its privacy policy available on its Web site.

Although he would advocate federal regulation only under certain circumstances, Misener says he doesn't want a company such as Amazon.com to ask the government to pass certain minimum standards that the company itself already meets, and drive out the competition that can't meet those standards in the process.

Whether privacy should be regulated still remains unresolved. But Privacilla.org's Harper comes back to the day's one consensus: Consumer education can only help resolve consumer anxiety. He says even just a basic knowledge of such elements as IP addresses and cookies would help the situation.

"Once people understand how information moves, they'll be much better equipped to navigate the Internet," Harper concludes.