For Immediate Release, February 5, 2002

Study for Spanish-Speaking Consumers Highlights Technologies They Can Use To Protect Their Privacy

San Francisco, CA—A study on consumer privacy, Privacidad del Consumidor: Un Enfoque de Libre Elección, was released in Spanish today by the San Francisco-based Pacific Research Institute (PRI). The study’s author, Sonia Arrison, director of the Institute’s Center for Technology Studies, warns consumers that many of the legislative proposals that are being advocated in the name of protecting consumer privacy will actually harm, rather than help, consumers.

Arrison warns that legislative proposals addressing “information sharing” and online marketing practices would result in higher prices for online purchases and other retail goods, and would raise credit card interest rates and mortgage rates. According to Arrison, “opt-in” proposals like those pending in the California legislature are especially costly and would have a negative impact on the economy as a whole.

“A lot of these proposals assume that consumers want a one-size-fits-all solution to privacy concerns, but many consumers appreciate the convenience of targeted marketing, especially online,” said Arrison. “Most consumers would not support these proposals if they knew it was going to hit them in the pocketbook.”

Arrison also cautions that consumers who are concerned about their privacy should not rely on the government to protect it. Privacidad del Consumidor describes over a dozen software products and technologies currently available to consumers that protect personal information.

“It doesn’t do anybody any good to have a privacy law enforced after there’s been a privacy violation,” said Arrison. “The best option for consumers is to take matters into their own hands and protect their information from theft and unwarranted government intrusion.”

The study and a list of technologies available to consumers are available online at www.pacificresearch.org/centers/cts_es. PRI’s El Centro para los Estudios de la Technología offers visitors a number of interesting articles and resources in Spanish.

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To receive a hard copy of the study or to interview Sonia Arrison, please contact Dawn Collier. The Pacific Research Institute is a public policy think tank in San Francisco.