equals more money. It isn’t usually in a company’s
financial interest to restrict access even to those users
with a history of bad behavior, as it restricts ad rev-
enue. Nor is it in the immediate best interest of the
companies to build safety tools unless consumers or
regulations demand it.The great news is that you have tremendous power in this financial
model. When companies make money by having lots of users, they lose
money when users leave their sites — and they become very concerned
and responsiveif users threaten to leave their sites because of poor poli-
cies, lack of safety, and so on. If you and others act, you can make a
tremendous difference.Hold the Government Accountable for Your Privacy
Some safety precautions, such as crossing the street safely or locking
your house when you go out, are your responsibility.Other safety measures aren’t. We don’t ask consumers to build public
roads, ensure that the roads meet quality standards, or require con-
sumers to enforce speed limits. In the same way, we can’t place the full
burden of online safety on consumers.These three key responsibilities lie firmly in the domain of government:➟ Establishing minimum safety standards for compa-
nies and their products and services so that con-
sumers can use technology without fear of harm.➟ Monitoring companies’ compliance with established
safety standards and penalizing companies that fail to
meet them.➟ Enforcing the law. Fighting criminals isn’t a job for
ordinary citizens; it leads to fear and vigilantism (as
we’ve seen in the vigilante efforts of ordinary citizens
to trap predators online).342
Part IV: Being Proactive