The Internet has changed how the world is run, how
information is sent and received and how we interact with one another. It has
brought incredible economic growth and opportunities to businesses around the
world, allowing for unprecedented customer interaction and marketing. With this
development, data on consumers has become the ultimate currency for online
marketers. More than ever before, advertising is catered and customized towards
consumers’ individual needs. However, as more and more data is collected via
the Internet, consumers privacy concerns over this gathered data has created a
digital stalemate. Consumers want advertising addressing their needs, but they
do not want to give more data than necessary to do so. With the advent of
social media, privacy concerns have sharpened and public outcry against online
data collection practices have forced online marketers to address how this
information is collected and distributed.
As pirated information continues to cost corporations and consumers
millions of dollars worldwide, online privacy is one of the greatest issues
facing web-users today.
According
to MIS quarterly, web-using individuals have six basic Internet privacy concerns,
or IPC’s. First of these regards the collection of personal data, and the
extent to which it is used by websites. The second concern addresses secondary
usage, which is the
alternate, unidentified purposes that a website may use collected personal data
for. Third are errors made by the website in collecting and protecting the
data that allow third parties to access and utilize said data. Along this line
is improper
access where information is obtained from the website and used by those
without authorization. This can refer to data hackers and identity thieves,
which affect thousands of people around the world every year. The fifth concern
is the amount of control a consumer has over the information collected by the
website, without knowing how the information is used or where it is going. Last
is awareness,
or rather, lack of awareness over a website’s privacy policy and how the
information will be used (Hong, 2013).
Any online
business seeking to obtain consumer information must be aware of their concerns,
and address them one by one. While self-regulation is generally the norm for
developing a company’s privacy policies, there is a host on legislation
regarding privacy that a company must adhere to (Hodges, 2013). In 1999
Congress passed the Financial Services Modernization Act, also known as the
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, in an attempt to address online data collection
practices. Under the Act, all practices of online data collection must give
consumers an option to opt-out of giving information.
While this was among
the first legislation to address the issue, it does not address many of the
privacy concerns posed by Internet users. While consumers are given the option
of opt-out of offering personal data, many feel the process should rather be
focused on opting-in. The act takes a more “better to ask forgiveness than
permission” approach, allowing websites to mine data unless explicitly
requested not to by the users. Such information can sometimes be accessed, or
stolen, by third parties without consumers knowing their personal information
is even available.
In December
2013, Target Corp. revealed they had been subject to a data breach. Hundreds of
thousands of credit card numbers, employee files and other information was
stolen, costing the company millions. Since then, other companies including
Snapchat Inc, Coca-Cola and Yahoo have suffered massive information breaches
(Banham, 2013). Not only do such attacks cost these companies massive amounts
of money; they immediately call into question their data security and lose
millions of customers as a result. Clearly, how data is retained and protected
is every bit as important as how it is obtained and collected. Those who are
willing to give companies personal information expect that information to be secured
and available only for the company’s stated private use. If a company doesn’t
protect its customers’ information, it will not survive long in today’s web
based economy.
Understanding
Internet privacy is the responsibility of any who frequent the Internet,
whether its marketers or the consumers they are addressing. It is the
responsibility of those collecting data for marketing use to protect and
responsibly use the data collected. It is the responsibility of the consumers
to understand a website’s privacy policy before volunteering personal
information. While a company must focus on addressing the consumer’s IPC’s, an
informed consumer will understand what information is safe to give, and where.
The Internet allows for greater business to consumer interaction than ever
before. As interaction increases, privacy becomes more and more important to
both businesses and consumers. More than ever before, these interactions
require the responsibility and cooperation of both parties to succeed and
overcome the issues of Internet privacy.
Weiyin Hong, James Thong (2013) Internet Privacy Concerns:
An Integrated Conceptualization and Four Empirical Studies. MIS
Quarterly.
Sarah Hodges, (2013) Information
and Communications Technology Law.
University of Maine
Russ Banham, (2013) “Slew
of High-Profile Data Breaches Puts Focus on Customer Communications”.
Business Insurance, Vol. 48, Issue 4
