Technology Trends

There is no doubt advances in technology will lead to more opportunities for sharing. More computer programs and marketing firms will promise to describe the consuming public by name - who the consumers are, where they live, and what they want to buy - for a variety of marketplaces. On one hand, computers will make all of this information more available. On the other, computers will also make it theoretically more possible to screen and block out information in compliance with the laws and regulations.

My guess is that these two trends will go hand in hand. Privacy demands and technology will develop together. As the business people who are responsible for making decisions actually determine how to slice, dice, and share information, they will also have a growing capacity to screen, block, and protect. This means technology will allow companies to individualize privacy protection. If a consumer indicates he wants more information about the types of products he has already bought, but doesn't want to hear about other, unrelated products the company may offer, the company should be able to use technology to deliver only the information the customer has indicated. In a perfect world, the legislatures would pick up this trend and pass laws that call on industry to tailor their programs to individual preferences. Companies that lack the hardware and software to tailor their programs will simply have to limit or eliminate any sharing.

Two things we can't predict are consumer tolerance and legislative concern. I don't think anyone truly knows how the consumer in general feels about having his or her information sliced, diced, and shared. That is an unpredictable element. If consumers become furious about the way their information is shared (as a result of technology, mainly), then they may complain in large numbers to their legislators. This is a high-profile topic now. At least for the moment, consumers can get their legislators' attention. There's a question whether legislators will continue to be interested in the topic of privacy. For example, as a result of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Congress passed laws that favor the collection of private information over privacy concerns.

Is privacy one of those concerns that remain for decades at the forefront, like civil rights, or is it more like antitrust enforcement, which drifts in and out of legislative favor? I would say most people don't mind getting some junk solicitation via the Internet, by mail, or even over the phone. They don't mind getting the junk as long as it doesn't contain references to really private information. A cautious company will think about this before delivering solicitations. A very few people are adamant about the entire topic: They don't want anything mailed to them, and they want their information completely private. There will always be some of those people, and their concerns need to be addressed.

It seems to me that technology makes it possible to individualize the protections. Legislatures will ensure that virtually all information can be blocked upon consumer demand, so businesses must weigh their ability to protect the rights of the adamant few. If a business doesn't have the technology to block a customer's information, then that business will probably have to abandon any plans to sell or to share information.

In summary, technology will put powerful tools into industry's hands to collect, sort, and retrieve information and to share or limit access to that information. The course of privacy will not be determined by that growing capacity, but by consumer concerns and legislative interest.