If there is anything to be learned from the recent Sony Playstation consumer information breach it is that data security ought to be as much of a corporate virtue as targeted marketing. Until it is (and even then), the loss of personal information and identity theft will be regular events.
Unlike other instances when business falls short and government legislates a fix, technology moves at a pace far faster than Congress can match. Even laws lauded for reining in bad behavior are susceptible to loop holes that undermine their effectiveness. For example, the “Do Not Call” legislation, cited daily for helping make the dinner hour again more about the mean than telemarketing, is silent on non-profits (like your alma mater) and political campaigns (which now have no season).
Right now, as a privacy bill authored by Senators Kerry and McCain begins its journey to law, critics note it does not include a “Do Not Track” proposal based on that earlier legislation. Based on that earlier legislation, such a proposal might be palliative, but no cure. Nick Bilton in the NY Times put it bluntly: “Technology also has a way of advancing far ahead of the law.”
At times when government falls short, it is often left to consumers or our advocates to step in. But managing our “data relationship” with every website we visit is way too confusing and will only grid-lock the information superhighway. To paraphrase the sage, Yogi Berra, perhaps we’ll stop going there because it will be too crowded.
The only real option is for the company we keep to keep our data secure. Consumer trust is essential for commercial success and appropriate data collection, use and retention policies are the unglamorous guts of it. Companies that seek new and larger markets are compelled to excel. It needs to be a competitive point of pride.
In Sony’s letter to Congress the point is well made: “Protecting individuals’ personal data is the highestpriority and ensuring that the Internet can be made secure for commerce is also essential.
But when consumers are not convinced, law suits like this one happen: McPhadden Samac Tuovi, a Canadian law firm, is suing for $1 billion on behalf of Natasha Maksimovic, one of Sony’s online network customers. “Maksimovic, 21, is scandalized by Sony’s problem handling: ‘It appears to me that Sony focuses more on protecting its games than its PlayStation users.’ she said.”
