The Best Policy Is No Policy at All by Justin Matlick Justin Matlick is director of the Center for Freedom in Technology at the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy, a San Francisco think tank. Why New Regulations Fail to Protect Children, a January 1999 publication of the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy. In the debate over government's role on the Internet, online privacy is the latest issue to take center stage. But Washington's patience is waning, and the 106th Congress will likely consider an onslaught of regulations. Cookies alone cannot divulge your name or address, but they can reveal how long you stay at a page, which products you like, and which sites you visit.
Web sites monitor what attracts visitors and tailor themselves to various interests.
Children's privacy advocates argue that, if left unregulated, Web sites and online marketers will violate children's privacy. Such requirements call for Web sites to obtain an individual's explicit consent before collecting and distributing personal information. A more effective policy approach would avoid new regulations, relying instead on the market forces that are already driving businesses to regulate themselves. Regulation advocates claim the profit motive contradicts privacy interests, and therefore self-regulation can never work. Because discriminating consumers won't patronize sites with policies they feel are unacceptable, sites must respond to their customers' privacy concerns.