While Congress considers new privacy laws, Silicon Valley leaders are discussing how privacy means many things to many people. This makes it imperative that privacy levels remain a personal choice that individuals, not government, make.

At a recent Silicon Forum event—a regular 40-member meeting of technology executives, entrepreneurs, and financiers—the topic was online privacy. Ellen Hancock, CEO of Exodus, one of the world’s leading web hosting companies, started off the discussion.

Her speech highlighted the need for companies to hire competent Internet security professionals to ensure hackers and other thieves don’t steal private data. Exodus hosts powerhouses like Yahoo! and eBay, so it’s no wonder that Ms. Hancock has security issues on her mind. Hacker threats are real, and every responsible company is concerned about them.

But when participants signed up for a discussion on privacy, many didn’t expect to be discussing firewalls (a technology that guards networks from outside threats) and security hiring practices.

"What about my privacy when I buy things online?" asked one telecom executive.

"Well, don’t you read privacy policies?" answered Tim Harrington, CEO of Fogdog sports. But it was clear that the man asking the question wasn’t worried about what companies did with his personal information, he was more concerned about someone stealing his credit card number during the transaction.

The moderator sighed at this common conflation of privacy issues and noted that no one is liable for credit card fraud anyway. The discussion then moved to privacy options and the market.

Harrington argued that privacy polices are simply one more factor that consumers take into account when deciding where to buy online. If opt-in policies—where the company gets explicit permission before collecting or sharing your data with anyone at any time—are important to you, you will only shop at sites that offer that service. For those who prefer to be contacted about discounts and special deals, opt-in won’t be their choice.

"But I’ll never read privacy policies," implored one participant, "how will my privacy be protected then?" The consensus was caveat emptor - every person has to take responsibility for their actions and look before they buy. This is how consumer privacy choice is ensured. And consumers aren’t alone.

"Seal of approval" programs such as TRUSTe and BBBOnline examine and certify a web site’s privacy policies. And, because the United States has, to date, let the market handle online privacy concerns, America is far ahead of many other countries in posting privacy policies and informing consumers of how their data will be used—never mind that the EU has the toughest data protection laws in existence. If the laws aren’t followed, they don’t mean much to those who depend on them.

Of course, the privacy dialogue didn’t end there. Other participants commented that they are more careful than ever these days to encrypt their data, especially since the FBI’s Carnivore—a government spy device—is in place at so many Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Privacy from government spying is important to a free society, but it seemed that some Forum members are also worried that their corporate secrets will be compromised.

It’s unfortunate that the Silicon Forum discussion can’t be packaged up and sent to lawmakers everywhere. The message it would send is: when looking at polls that show people want more privacy, the question needs to be asked: what kind of privacy do people want, and what is the best way to ensure it?

The government should not allow the FBI, currently embroiled in a spy scandal involving one of its own, to conduct unauthorized snooping on ordinary citizens. When it comes to hackers, companies need to beef up security systems. When it comes to marketers, consumers, not government, should choose the privacy policy that’s right for them.