Living in the global goldfish bowl

PRIVACY has become one of the most fought-over battlegrounds of the information economy. As databases proliferate and the use of the Internet expands inexorably, the calls of consumer groups and privacy advocates for more protections have grown ever more strident, and the pledges of companies to respect the privacy of their customers ever more convoluted. At the heart of this struggle is a basic dilemma: most people want to retain some control over who knows what about them, and yet information about individuals is the life-blood of most of the burgeoning new service businesses. Without their growing databases, firms would not be able to tailor their products to individual tastes, handle secure electronic transactions, offer streamlined payment and delivery, or target their advertising and promotion.