ComputerLink articles by Brian Pitre

Privacy Policy

How to handle privacy on the Internet has become one of the most controversial subjects ever.

Do you believe your personal information should belong to you?

Most people believe answer "yes" to that question. However, did you know that companies, government agencies, and others can and do collect a wide array of personal information on you without your knowledge and then widely distribute the information? This practice is in no way limited to just the Internet. As a matter of fact it has been going on for years. A couple of examples outside the Internet that have received recent criticism are state motor vehicle departments selling drivers records and banks selling customer lists.

The reason that the issue of privacy on the Internet has become more widely noticed is due to the speed that information travels over the Internet. Just today, as I was writing this article, the now infamous "I LOVE YOU" virus was creating havoc worldwide and spreading at an unbelievable rate of speed. It's not difficult to conceive that your personal information can travel at a rate almost as fast.

Once personal information is collected what happens to the information?

As Internet users we would all like to believe that the information stops and just sits somewhere where no one can access it, but in most instances that is not the case. One of the greatest misunderstandings that people have is thinking that if a there is a "privacy policy" on a Web site then their personal information is not going to be shared. This is not necessarily true!

Georgetown University conducted an Internet Privacy Policy Survey in January 1999 of the top Web sites by audience and found that 92.8% collect some form of personal identifying information such as name, email address or postal address. Of those sites only 65.9% had posted a Privacy Policy.

A Privacy Policy is supposed to state what the Web site does with the information NOT that it's committed to keeping the information private. The only way to understand what may happen to the information you disclose is to carefully read each policy. In some instances the Privacy Policy may state that the information IS distributed to others! This typically occurs when a service is provided for free in exchange for your personal information or more likely your opinions. There are some situations where people typically do not mind contributing opinions or preferences as long as there is no way of identifying them individually.

What Should a Privacy Policy Say?

At a minimum a good Privacy Policy should define and explain a number of key issues such as use of log files and IP addresses, use of personal information, sharing of information, use of cookies, what forms of security are used, accommodation of an opt-out procedure, and definition of how corrections/updates can be made to personal information.

What are Privacy Seal Programs?

With the growth of Privacy Statements there are a number of Privacy seal programs including BBB Online, CPA Web Trust, Secure Assure, and Truste. These programs are supposed to be the watchdogs for privacy statements insuring that companies live up to what they say in their policies.

They are supposed to carefully monitor Web sites displaying their seals and insure the integrity where they are displayed. The site displaying the seal is charged a fee that pays their monitoring activities. Although this sounds like a great idea it has fallen short of delivering their promise. One privacy seal program, Truste, has received great criticism for their inability to insure integrity of their users. There are documented cases where Web sites displaying their seal did not live up to their Privacy Policies and Truste was not taking appropriate action. This does not mean all seal program lack value or integrity only there is much more to be done to protect the consumer.

As with most things with the World Wide Web and the Internet there are many newly evolving methods yet to be finalized and I'm sure Privacy Policy falls into that category. I believe there will be a number of evolving solutions to insure the integrity of the Privacy Policy statements made on Web sites. Today there are a few options that I would endorse such as the BBB online and CPA Web Trust as evolving credible seals for consumer protection.

Make sure your business posts a Privacy Policy and, most of all, is prepared to live by the commitments made to you're customers. As a consumer over the Internet regardless if it's "Business to Consumer" or "Business to Business" carefully read and understand the Privacy Policy's posted on the Web sites you use. Look for the privacy seals that over time begin to become the standard and make you feel comfortable.

I personally believe that just like similar self-policing initiatives we are better off to continue to maintain a self-responsibility to privacy rather than expect or allow it to become a government mandate. Privacy is important to us all and making it real will take initiative, understanding, and work by all of us.