Data Security, Privacy and Identity Theft: The Economics behind the Policy Debates
William Roberds, Stacey L. Schreft
A byproduct of improved information technology has been a loss of privacy. Personal information that was once confined to dusty archives can now be readily obtained from proprietary data services, or it may be freely available (and, as Facebook users know, often voluntarily provided and accessible) through the Internet. While the increased collection and dissemination of personal data have undoubtedly provided economic benefits, they have also diminished people’s sense of privacy and, in some cases, given rise to new types of crime.
