Customers' privacy and their data are two immutable and opposing forces that a company must always try to balance, usually unsuccessfully. Few for-profit firms have proven themselves able to resist the lure of monetizing their customers' and users' data. Some consumer advocates have put up a good fight in keeping such privacy intrusions to a minimum. Still, though, laws outlining the proper use of customer data to protect against identity theft are still, in many cases, stalled in the legislative process, says Kathryn C. Montgomery, a professor at American University.
January 22nd 2008