This couldn t be more true with respect to matters dealing with the Internet, where time is measured in weeks, if not days. Second, at the same time, even on the Internet there can be market failures that call for government intervention, assuming the intervention itself does not create more problems than it cures.
Privacy is one area where the market appears to have failed, at least to some extent.
Every survey I have seen indicates that strong majorities are concerned about their privacy on the Net. Yet many firms sell personal information without the subject s knowledge or consent. It is true that surveys also show an increasing number of web sites providing notice and to a lesser extent an opt out. But progress remains uneven. Third, and this is the most important point I want to make in my opening remarks, U.S. law appropriately has never made privacy an absolute right that trumps everything else in all circumstances, as is broadly the case in Europe.