FC: Industry studies attack U.S. data collection regulations

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

"Industry Studies Attack Web-Privacy Laws"
Wall Street Journal (03/13/01) P. B6; Bridis, Ted

A new campaign is underway to impress legislators with the
dangers online privacy laws pose to businesses.  Four industry
studies were published yesterday by the Direct Marketing
Association, which is working closely with the Online Privacy
Alliance--including tech companies such as IBM, Microsoft, Sun
Microsystems, and AOL Time Warner--to preempt Internet privacy
legislation at both the state and federal level.  Although
observers say any laws are unlikely to be passed this year,
businesses in the tech sector are jittery over what they say is a
$17 billion threat to the 90 largest financial institutions.
According to one of the studies released, the costs of Internet
privacy laws would be passed onto consumers in the form of an
informal $1 billion information tax.  Adding to the concern is
companies' worry that sensationalism over privacy infringements
on the Web could result in fast-moving laws they would be
hard-pressed to stop.  Tech companies maintain that the best
solution to online privacy problems are new technologies, not new
laws.  However, the Electronic Privacy Information Center's Marc
Rotenberg says the issue is too big and too pressing to ignore.
"This is not an issue on the radar screen.  It is the radar
screen," he says, although he admits that laws dealing with
Internet privacy will take some time.  Already, some corporate
technology interests, such as Intel and Hewlett-Packard, have
conceded that moderate Internet privacy regulation would prove
beneficial and that some form of legislation is inevitable.




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