If it is a fundamental right, how far does it go? Should I be able to sue you for watching me walk in a public place? Photographing me? Video taping me? What about a privately owned but still public place?

There are a lot of questions here that I think people tend to skip over about users owning information about them and being able to control it.

Making some observations out your window of cars passing by is something no one ever had a problem with. Taking down every single identifier you could and coordinating with others to track that person, for a profit, is something that would not be kosher in meat space.

Why this different just because it's on a computer?

Keeping detailed information about everyone that enters your store isn't illegal, as far as I know. Especially not information that is gained from observation (what color shirt they're wearing, their IP address) and information that is submitted willingly (their name given for a reservation at a restaurant, their username).

That's the whole point of the law is to say it's illegal, the same way laws made stalking people illegal

In this case, a lot of people base their argument on a fundamental right to privacy which is not generally accepted by everyone and therefore it has to be explained because it's an important part of the discussion.

Also, no one who actually does this stuff for a living uses the term "webmaster".

Have I been hallucinating my workplace this whole time?