A Rational Response to the Privacy ‘Crisis’

What passes today as a “debate” over privacy lacks agreed‐​upon terms of reference, rational arguments, or concrete goals. Though the stars are aligning for a market in privacy products and services, those who believe that rapidly evolving information technologies are eroding privacy regularly pitch their arguments in the direction of lawmakers, pushing for unspecified new rules that would cast a pall over innovation. These calls for ill‐​considered new laws threaten the remarkable economic conditions that have fueled the Internet revolution up until now. Join us for a conversation on proposed solutions to Internet privacy issues and their impact on the Internet ecosystem, featuring a new Cato Institute policy analysis by Larry Downes, “A Rational Response to the Privacy ‘Crisis’.”