Bowing to increasing public pressure and the Clinton administration's own studies showing that privacy remains a serious problem in the Information Age, Vice President Al Gore this morning announced a series of initiatives designed to keep private information private. Included in the initiatives is support for legislation to tighten some privacy loopholes in the private sector. Clearly relishing his role as the administration's chief spokesman on technology, Gore touched on issues that have long formed the basis of privacy activism in this country.
Privacy is a basic American value in the Information and every other age.
It must be protected. Whether those words will make any difference in the debate, however, remains to be seen. I don't understand this piecemeal approach. Deirdre Mulligan, staff counsel to the Center for Democracy and Technology, said the White House was reacting instead of leading. Though White House officials had previously failed to endorse legislation to protect online privacy, Gore said the administration has decided some laws are now necessary.