ABSTRACT
This chapter explains how technology has emerged as a policy instrument, becoming the subject of considerable attention and arousing much enthusiasm in policy and regulatory networks. Joel Reidenberg goes on to argue that Lex Informatica possesses some characteristics that are particularly useful for information policy-making. One implication of Lex Informatica is that it provides the potential for policy-makers to shape designers' technical choices and standards to allow for individual policy choices through customization of configurations. Under the circumstances, key policy decisions are more visible and are more likely to be made by state policy-makers than by technological developers and standards bodies. Consumers can use their browsers or other software tools to read a site's privacy policy, and these tools automatically provide notifications about whether the policy matches the user's privacy preferences. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has developed an interesting and useful typology of instruments currently in the marketplace in its 'Online Guide to Practical Privacy Tools'.
