Is it Time to Lay Down the Law on the Internet?
The Boston Globe discusses the renewed interest in internet privacy in the wake of the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal.
But Wayne Crews, vice president for policy at the libertarian think tank Competitive Enterprise Institute, said Facebook customers know they’re sacrificing privacy every time they log on. “It’s never been a secret that when you go online you share information in exchange for certain services,” said Crews.
People who are worried about loss of privacy can simply stop using these services, he said, rather than have the government decide for them. If enough consumers want social networks that protect their privacy, Crews added, then some clever entrepreneur will eventually create them.
The hands-off approach to Internet regulation has helped US Internet companies Facebook, Google, and Amazon become global titans. But simmering anger over the abuse of Facebook data for political ends may shift the debate, and goad American lawmakers toward a European-style crackdown in defense of online privacy.