And Congress is grappling with laws to prevent some information about our mutual-fund holdings from being sold and bought as freely as hot dogs. But with super powerful computers and vast databases in the private sector, personal information can't be segmented in this manner. For example, in 1996, a man in Los Angeles got himself a store card, which gave him discounts and allowed the store to trace what he purchased. After injuring his knee in the store, he sued for damages. He was then told that if he proceeded with his suit, the store would use the fact that he bought a lot of liquor to show that he must have fallen because he was a drunkard.
Some laws prohibit insurers from asking people directly about their sexual orientation.
Cookies, we are assured, merely inform marketers about our wishes so that advertising can be better directed, sparing us from a flood of junk mail. Nineteen eighty-four is here, courtesy of Intel, Microsoft and quite a few other corporations. This pronouncement of the death of privacy is premature, but we will be able to keep it alive only if we introduce general, all-encompassing protections over segmented ones. Some cyberspace anonymity can be provided by new technologies like anti-cookie programs and encryption software that allow us to encrypt all of our data. Corporate self-regulation can also help.