The enactment of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018, the toughest global privacy and security law, and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in 2020, the first law of its kind in the United States, heralded a new era for consumer privacy. Recently, big tech firms are building COVID contact tracing apps. Are consumer attitudes towards privacy changing? Do these attitudes differ by generation? Will enforcement of privacy laws begin to wane? This Town Hall presented: A Privacy…

Coronavirus and social distancing are affecting consumers’ daily lives in profound ways. Virtual experiences are usurping in-person experiences. E-commerce and home delivery have filled the void left by closed or virus-risky stores. Home cooking and takeout have supplanted once-thriving restaurants. Streaming video has temporarily achieved total victory over its theatrical cinema competition. Obsession with hygiene has overtaken other factors (e.g. local, eco-friendly) in driving consumer choices. When the crisis passes, will people revert to their prior ways, or will some…

Every crisis is unique, but every crisis also has antecedents in history – especially with regard to the crisis’s effect on public opinion. In some ways, the current moment is similar to 9/11 in that it involves charged emotions and fears that go beyond those associated with a mere economic downturn. After 9/11 appeals to patriotism and to solidarity with victims and first-responders resulted in a short-term “rally-round-the-flag” sentiment. Now, a global pandemic plus nationalist rhetoric is leading to some…