Taming the Digital Wild West

[Commentary] Many companies claim that the fact that their goods and services are provided online somehow makes them immune from regulation. This isn’t smart, or sustainable.

Just because a company has an app instead of a storefront doesn’t mean consumer protection laws don’t apply. The cold shoulder that regulators like me get from self-proclaimed cyberlibertarians deprives us of powerful partners in protecting the public interest online. While this may shield companies in the short run, authorities will ultimately be forced to use the blunt tools of traditional law enforcement. Cooperation is a better path. Regulators should not be deterred and, as a practical matter, they can’t and won’t be -- we are now living in an online world, one that offers great promise but is also becoming one of the primary crime scenes of the 21st century. Major service providers cannot be allowed to treat it as a digital Wild West. The only question is how long it will take for these cybercowboys to realize that working with the sheriffs is both good business and the right thing to do.

[Schneiderman is the New York State attorney general]