AFFIRMATIVE — COUNTERPLAN — STATES/FEDERALISM — ANSWERS 40

WE NEED ONE NATIONAL PRIVACY STANDARD, NOT 5O DIFFERENT ONES

LAWS PROTECTING INFORMATION FLOW MUST BE EXECUTED AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL

Suzanne M. Thompson, "The Digital Explosion Comes With a Cost: The Loss of Privacy," Journal of Technology Law and Policy, Spring 1999, 4 J. Tech. L. & Pol'y 3, EE2001-JGM, P.51

Due to the interactive network systems, personal information flows are not confined to state or national borders. Fair information practices must cut across geographical and industry lines to address the collection, use and dissemination of personal information across jurisdictions. Thus, it may be most appropriate to adopt any new practices at the federal level. While network communications are not bound by national boundaries, informational privacy could be protected at the international level; however, a complete analysis of various international responses to personal privacy is beyond the scope of this article.

STATE LAWS ON INTERNET PRIVACY ARE LARGELY INEFFECTIVE, THEY NEED TO BE FEDERAL AND NATIONAL

The Buffalo News, April 3, 2000, SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE, Pg. 2B TITLE: THE PRIVACY OF NEW YORKERS // acs-EE2001

Some of the recommendations are questionable. Since most Internet contacts cross state and even international lines, state data collection laws could be largely ineffective. It may be wise to act, in light of federal foot-dragging, but it makes more sense for Washington to deal with this issue and to encourage the online industry itself to produce strong policies on user privacy.

WEAK FEDERAL LAW UNDERMINES PRIVACY PROTECTION, WHAT IS NEEDED IS A STRONG AND UNIFORM FEDFERAL LAW

Sean Madigan; Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN), March 24, 2000, SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 3A TITLE: Hatch tells Congress to strengthen consumer privacy protection // acs-VT2001

"The federal law doesn't do a damned thing," Hatch said. "I'd like it if they [Congress] would just pass a uniform law because it's an interstate business," he said, adding that the weak federal law "undermines" privacy protections already in place in Minnesota.

WE MUST HAVE CONGRESSIONAL ACTION TO PROTECT PRIVACY

Michelle Singletary The Washington Post, January 31, 1999, SECTION: FINANCIAL; Pg. H02; TITLE: Whose Information Is It, Anyway?; Consumers Have Few Rights to Privacy of Personal Data // acs-EE2001

Hey, I feel for businesses trying to make a buck but I'm tired of them saying they are doing me a favor by disclosing my business to whomever.

Let's stop giving our rights away. Let's take back our privacy. Let's hammer Congress to pass more privacy protections for our data.

PRIVACY LEGISLATION NEEDS TO BE FEDERAL, NOT STATE BY STATE

Suzanne Choney, The San Diego Union-Tribune, December 21, 1999, SECTION: COMPUTER LINK Pg. 2 TITLE: Open debate on privacy puts spotlight on risks // acs-EE2001

Privacy legislation should not be state-by-state, or based on where the user lives -- "then the content provider has to figure out every single law" - - but rather, there should be national legislation requiring Web sites to " disclose what they're doing with the information," he said.

CONGRESS MUST ACT TO PROTECT INFORMATION AGE PRIVACY

Andrew J. Glass, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, April 7, 2000, SECTION: News; Pg. 17A TITLE: Web complicating privacy debate; Experts at odds on updating laws // acs-EE2001

Gregory Nojeim, a legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said, "Legally, it is easier for the government to snoop through a couple's private e-mails to one another than it is for the government to listen into the very same conversations if they take place on the phone."

Warning that Americans are at risk of losing control of their personal data, Nojeim added, "As businesses and schools scramble to stay apace of rapidly evolving technologies, Congress must jump in and ensure that our privacy laws are not made obsolete."

PROTECTING PRIVACY SHOULD BECOME A NATIONAL PRIORITY

St. Petersburg Times, July 06, 1999, SECTION: EDITORIAL; EDITORIALS; Pg. 12A TITLE: The erosion of privacy // acs-EE2001

In a nation that values civil liberties and has a good "it's none of my (or your) business" ethic, protecting citizen privacy should once again become a national priority.

PRIVACY IS A SACRED RIGHT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MUST DEFEND

The New York Times, November 14, 1999, SECTION: Section 4; Page 14; TITLE: The Supreme Court on Privacy

What is truly "sacred" here, and worth preserving, is Americans' right to personal privacy, and Congress's ability to intervene when states put it up for sale.