Max Cleland: “the information highway began just a few years ago as a footpath and is now an unlimited lane expressway with no rush…”

“the information highway began just a few years ago as a footpath and is now an unlimited lane expressway with no rush hour. People can now use the Internet to shop at virtual stores located thousands of miles away, find turn-by-turn directions to far away destinations and journey to hamlets, cities and states across the country--and indeed around the world--without ever leaving home. While the virtual world is available to us with a few key strokes and mouse clicks, there is one area of the Internet that many are finding troublesome. It is the collection and use of personnel data. All too often web surfers are providing personal information about themselves at the websites they visit, without their knowledge and consent. There is so much information being collected every day that it would take a building the size of the Library of Congress to store it all in. That is a lot of information, much of which is very personal and I believe it must be kept that way. Concern about one's privacy on the Internet is keeping people from fully enjoying this marvelous technology.”