And, we believe that our commitment to consumer privacy and the means we give our subscribers to exercise their privacy prerogatives gives us a clear and meaningful market advantage in attracting and retaining subscribers. Finally, we try to keep users informed about the steps they can take to protect their own privacy online. For instance, we emphasize to our members that they must be careful not to give out their personal information unless they specifically know the entity or person with whom they are dealing, and we encourage them to check to see whether the sites they visit on the Web have posted privacy policies. The Internet presents new challenges and opportunities for the protection of privacy. Our policies must be grounded in an understanding of the medium's unique attributes and its unique potential to promote democratic values.
Privacy is a complex value.
In the context of this discussion, we believe Congress should focus on ensuring that individuals' long-held expectations of autonomy, fairness, and confidentiality are respected as daily activities move online. By autonomy, we mean the individual's ability to browse, seek out information, and engage in a range of activities without being monitored and identified. Fairness requires policies that provide individuals with control over information that they provide to the government and the private sector. The Internet poses both challenges and opportunities to protecting privacy. The Internet accelerates the trend toward increased information collection that is already evident in our offline world.