Privacy Legislation will Harm Consumers, Study Says

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As Congressional leaders return to Washington this week, a new study released today by the San Francisco-based Pacific Research Institute (PRI) warns that much of the privacy legislation pending in Congress and state legislatures nationwide will harm rather than help consumers. The study cautions that new laws may lull consumers into feeling safe, but the only way to guarantee protection is to safeguard themselves.

Consumer Privacy: A Free Choice Approach, by Sonia Arrison, director of PRI’s Center for Freedom and Technology, includes a laundry list of over a dozen software products and technologies currently available to consumers that protect personal information from being tracked by potential privacy invaders, including the federal government.

“It doesn’t do the average American any good to have a privacy law enforced after there’s been a privacy violation,” said Arrison. “The best option for consumers is to take matters into their own hands and prevent any problems in the first place.”

Arrison also warns that new regulations addressing “information sharing” and online marketing practices would result in higher prices for consumers for online purchases and other retail goods, which would have a negative impact on technological innovation, e-commerce, and the economy as a whole.

“A lot of consumers appreciate the convenience of targeted marketing, especially online, while others want complete anonymity on the web,” said Arrison. “With millions of people online, the government cannot possibly craft a one-size fits all law to meet the needs of this diverse group of consumers. Only private technology and market-based business incentives can preserve consumer choice,” she said.

The study exposes the myths surrounding the consumer privacy debate, and compares government proposals against private, market-based incentives that ensure corporations put consumer concerns above profits.