Experts Debate Information, Privacy

Center for Democracy and Technology President Leslie Harris and Google public policy chief Alan Davidson on Friday dismissed a recent Technology Policy Institute report that argues there is a trade-off between increasing Internet privacy protections for consumers and the free flow of Web-based goods and services. Harris said "In Defense of Data: Information and the Costs of Privacy" should be renamed "In Defense of Straw Men." "Privacy and having a robust marketplace online are not inconsistent," she said at a Capitol Hill event sponsored by TPI.