Privacy protection on the Internet: the marketplace versus the state

There is a battle being fought in the USA and elsewhere, with respect to the protection of privacy on the Internet. In response to public concern, various government bodies in the USA, Canada and Europe have explored approaches to the protection of personal privacy on the Internet, with differing results. At the same time, Internet consumer and civil liberties groups, and business and newly emerging industry groups have proposed their solutions to the perceived problems. In this paper, we articulate the various positions and attempt to identify and evaluate the dominant themes. At the end, we propose an approach that requires government intervention, sometimes referred to as the European model.