It is appropriate to wait until gaps in these protections develop. Prosecution is appropriate where practices are deceptive, such as violations of Section 5. Laws should be passed to create a baseline for consumer protection and the FTC should be given greater authority to protect consumers. Companies should be required to obtain consumer consent before using personal information. State authority to protect consumers should not be pre-empted.
Outliers exist with respect to the use of privacy policies.
These companies should be held to a federal legislative standard for privacy protection. A balance of law and self-regulation is necessary and a legal baseline should be established. Technology alone is not enough to protect consumers. Internet users will decide which companies and which business models will survive. Businesses that do not instill consumer confidence through appropriate disclosures and protection of consumer privacy will not be the winners in the end.