Internet Privacy: Who Makes the Rules

Richard M. Smith
4 YALE SYMP. L. & TECH. art. no. 2

In my talk today, I would like to introduce some of the privacy concerns currently making news on the Internet. I will first look at who the players in the field are. I will explore the roles, sometimes competing and sometimes complementary, of lawmakers and programmers in resolving privacy issues. Second, I would like to show how the unique environment of the Internet has driven the development of privacy issues, notably online profiling, mostly through enabling technologies. Third, in an effort to help make some of these issues more tangible, I will discuss the role of DoubleClick, both as a source of trouble and as a would-be solver of problems. Finally, given the trajectory of development as it exists today, I will explore some possible developments in the near future of online profiling.

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