Powell: 'New Balance' Needed on Privacy Rights

EX-FCC CHIEF: 'NEW BALANCE' NEEDED ON PRIVACY RIGHTS
[SOURCE: Charlotte Business Journal, AUTHOR: David Mildenberg]
Speaking Monday in Charlotte, former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell said changing views of privacy rights helps explain why the public is nearly divided over reports that the federal government secretly collected phone records of millions of Americans. Powell said he has mixed views on the issue but believes many Americans understand the world changed on Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists attacked New York City and Washington, D.C. Political and regulatory leaders are searching for a "new balance" between privacy rights and national security needs, he added. He emphasized that Americans are much more willing to give up some privacy rights than in the past, provided they receive a commensurate benefit such as increased mobility. As an example, he cited how many cell-phone customers speak loudly in public venues nowadays, compared with past practice in which callers retreated to phone booths for private conversations.
http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2006/05/15/daily10.html?fro...