Saturday, November 15 2003
Could the Patriot Act threaten the growth of e-commerce?
That is the question being raised by some online booksellers and e-tailing analysts, who suggest that the Patriot Act, passed in October 2001 to give the government new counterterrorism capabilities, has already changed the way some companies and consumers do business online. For some consumers, it has meant fewer online purchases of politically incorrect books. For the Web sites, it has meant changes to privacy policies and marketing strategies, among other things.
Some moderate voices among online businesspeople see no true threat, and the Justice Department dismisses the risks of the Patriot Act altogether. But Phillip Bevis sees it otherwise.
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