They also prosecuted an activist who set up a web page critical of a large bank and named bank directors, and an animal-rights activist who published a list of fur producers. Arguments for intervention aren't supported by either theory or experience. In many cases, they are essential to providing the zero-cost content Internet users have come to expect. Compiling personal information lets businesses become more efficient and produce only products that people want. Don Boudreaux, president of the Foundation for Economic Education, likens customization to a good tailor.
Wealthy people get custom shirts, custom made shoes, and a lot of custom-made items.
What this new technology is doing is making it easier for merchants to give the same benefits of customization that were only available to the wealthy before. Jacob Palme, Stockholm University, has documented various implementations gone awry, and maintains information on the laws and its consequences at Internet Law in Sweden. Government collection of information is a different matter. Government plans like the creation of an air traveler profiling system, the FBI's Carnivore surveillance system, and the trend toward larger and more intrusive government databases should give any thoughtful person cause for concern. But entirely-appropriate worries about government data collection should not be used as an excuse to rush to regulate the private sector.