Moreover, although companies may not use all of the information they collect today, it is certainly discoverable through a subpoena or court order. Americans should be able to identify which information resulting from private surveillance activities might be used against them at a later date. Absent regulation, companies will have no incentive to bind themselves, because they want the freedom to change their practices. Yet strong, believable representations are critical to consumer confidence in the trustworthiness of privacy policies. Deletion of information is especially a problem with regard to opting out of a service after one has already registered.
Many sites give users the option of discontinuing the further use of personal information.
However, most make no representation that data already provided to them will be deleted. Such a statement lacks clarity about whether there's an option to opt out subsequent to registration. As databases are aggregated, and as data mining technology improves, the quality of profiles increases dramatically. Outright sale of information, while possible, is far from necessary for such consolidation to occur. Some companies may choose to merge their own database information.