Pay me, protect my privacy
I just finished up editing my book, Privacy Lost, coming out by Wiley in October and after being soaked to my elbows with privacy, I am convinced that a definition that I use in my book is reasonable--Privacy is the right to control information about yourself.
If this is so, then how is privacy (control information about self) different than trade secrets (control information about a company) or classified information (control information about a government)?
The latter two types of information are protected a lot better, the latter punitively, the former civilly. Fines or jail time. What sanctions does the violater get for intruding on your privacy? Nothing. Then perhaps the right model is to give you something.
It seems that in this rapidly digitizing world, that nothing is more important than information, potentially nothing more valuable either. Routine information like news, is commoditized and valueless. Uniqueness of information creates value, as does timeliness. A 30 minute-delayed stock feed is free, up-to-the-minute is $50 a month, 30 minutes into the future is absolutely priceless.
Our privacy is worth something. If companies want to take our data, we should be reimbursed and not with crummy coupons, either. How about some laws giving us money everytime the phone company sells our records or mail us $100 every time a marketer violates the Don't-Call registry? Even a free Big Mac for every violation would slow the worst offenders down.
Posted on July 13, 2006
