Panel 15 Researching Privacy: From Computerized Workplaces to the Marketspace

The spectacular increases in worldwide networking, the formation of electronic communities, and the growth of electronic commerce create both increased benefits and increased risks. The benefits, from increased access to information from one’s desktop to the competitive advantages to business, are well publicized. The risks — especially the risks to personal privacy — tend to be downplayed or overlooked. Yet the extensive interconnection that exists in a networked world dramatically increases the amount of personal information that can potentially be collected by third parties, raising new sets of privacy concern