People will have to start assuming that they simply have no privacy. This will constitute one of the greatest social changes of modern times. Privacy is doomed for the same reason that it has been eroded so fast over the past two decades. Presented with the prospect of its loss, many might prefer to eschew even the huge benefits that the new information economy promises. But they will not, in practice, be offered that choice.
Privacy is a residual value, hard to define or protect in the abstract.
The European union's data protection directive, the most sweeping recent attempt, gives individuals unprecedented control over information about themselves. This could provide remedies against the most egregious intrusions. But it is doubtful whether the law can be applied in practice, if too monay people try to use it. Already the Europeans are hinting that they will not enforce the strict terms of the directive against America, which has less stringent protections. Broadly enforced, such a property right would be antithetical to an open society.