Guarding privacy on the internet: privacy policy, government regulations and technology solutions
by Madan Lal Bhasin
International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising (IJIMA), Vol. 4, No. 2/3, 2008

Abstract: A vast array of goods and services are being advertised, bought and exchanged worldwide using the internet as a global marketplace. New e-business technologies have increased the ability of online merchants to collect, monitor, target and sell personal information about consumers to third parties. Online consumer privacy, therefore, has attracted the attention of regulators across the globe and poses a significant challenge to online marketers. The FTC has identified five 'core' privacy principles, which are widely accepted by leading countries. With the EU Directive already in force, trust seals and government regulations are the two leading forces pushing for more privacy disclosures. Undoubtedly, privacy should be protected, but the standard applied differs from country to country. Privacy legislation prevalent in the USA and the EU is surveyed in this paper. Currently, the only way consumers can stop the collection of their personal data is to 'opt-out' or configure the browser to reject 'cookies'. We have examined various privacy-enhancing technology solutions but there is no 'single' solution to stop the erosion of privacy in cyberspace. For corporations that collect and use personal information, ignoring privacy legislative and regulatory warning signs can prove to be a costly mistake.

Online publication date: Mon, 04-Feb-2008

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