NY Times – Redrawing the Route to Online Privacy

An NY Times article – Redrawing the Route to Online Privacy reports general consensus that the traditional “notice and choice” method of web-user privacy protection doesn’t cut it any more. As noted yesterday the NTIA and FCC have launched an initiative to consider regulation, but the trade offs between civic and economic interests make it a tricky business.

Meanwhile academics are coming up with their own solutions:

  • privacy nudges: smart agents that alert users before they give away personal info.
  • visceral notices: human-like warnings that are more likely to be heeded.
  • browser reform: establishment of anonymous browsing as the norm rather than the exception.