Don't Restrain Trade in Information by Justin Matlick On Monday the White House announced a series of initiatives intended to promote the Internet and electronic commerce. While the administration generally recognizes that online businesses should be free from government regulation, its actions belie its words in the key area of privacy.
Web users can already protect their information.
Government intervention would harm the Internet. Stored on your hard drive, cookies are files that tell sites information about you. They are planted after a site asks your browser for permission to create them. 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. Sites use the information they gather in several ways.