Internet Privacy: A Public Concern

by Lorrie Faith Cranor
Why is so much of the recent attention to privacy issues focused on Internet privacy when consumers have had privacy concerns long before they started doing business online? Certainly, the current hype surrounding the Internet in general has contributed to the buzz. These days, anything that happens online seems much more exciting than things going on in the "real" world. But in the case of online privacy, I think there is some substance behind the hype.

Internet privacy is now a hot-button issue; the flurry of media reports about HTTP cookies has raised public concerns that consumers' online activities are being monitored. In mid-May, Vice President Al Gore announced a White House initiative aimed at helping to improve online privacy protections. And in June, the Federal Trade Commission reported the results of its March privacy "sweep," in which the agency visited more than 1,400 commercial Web sites in search of clearly displayed privacy policies. The FTC reported that while 85% of the sites it had visited collect personal information from consumers, only 14% had posted any privacy-related notices, and only 2% had posted comprehensive privacy policies.

Meanwhile, the European Union is preparing to launch the European Data Protection Directive on Oct. 25. This directive will prohibit EU member countries from sending personal data to other countries that lack adequate privacy protection. Online transactions, which often cross national borders, may be significantly impacted by this directive.

The Internet and computerized databases make automated collection and processing of information particularly easy and convenient. In fact, for the typical Web site operator, it's easier to collect information about Web site visitors than to figure out how to configure a Web server not to collect that information. As a result, there are now zillions of databases silently collecting mostly innocuous "click-stream" data from everyone who surfs on by. But when these databases are merged, and especially when click-stream data is combined with personally identifiable data that users type in when filling out online forms, Web surfers may be profiled in ways that raise serious privacy concerns. Imagine, for example, if employers started inferring health information about their employees (or prospective employees) based on information about visitors to medical- or health-related Web sites.

Personal Comment: The article stated that 85% of the sites it had visited collect personal information from consumers, only 14% had posted any privacy-related notices, and only 2% had posted comprehensive privacy policies, this shows the needed of laws and regulations to comes in and improve the situation to protect the data subject (user of internet) personal data. If the condition did not improve, user will loss confidence to online transaction as their information might spread to unknown third parties which they not prefer to happens.