The free flow of information allows for simpler, speedier transactions. Laws protecting privacy blend with those that empower censors. These restrictions threatened a breakdown in international e-commerce until the two sides negotiated a truce last year.
Informed consent is the buzzword among regulators debating new privacy policies.
How informed remains the center of dispute. U.S. data marketing policies offer legalese and fine print that leaves most consumers baffled. Big accounting firms and established credit card data verifiers are pushing into the business. Data-sharing has deep roots in the old economy. L.L. Bean, the U.S. clothing catalog retailer, got his start in 1912 buying hunting license data from states.