Privacy efforts are intended to project an image of trust to consumers worried about the loss of their privacy, to dissuade lawmakers from tightening regulations, to prevent costly courtroom battles, and to avoid public relations nightmares while encouraging online transactions. IT data privacy efforts are being stepped up in the financial services and health care fields, which are being prodded by new laws.
Net companies have plenty of incentive to regulate themselves now rather than wait to see what will emerge from the scores of privacy-related bills that have been introduced in both Congress and state legislatures. Companies doing business online would pay from $9 billion to $36 billion modifying their Web sites to comply with proposed privacy laws, according to a study released May 8 which was underwritten by the Association for Competitive Technology, a Washington-based lobbying organization backed by Microsoft.
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