HOME INTRODUCTION PRIVACY DEFINED E-COMMERCE COOKIES SELF REGULATION CHILD PRIVACY PRIVACY ORGANIZATIONS RECENT EVENTS REFERENCES E-COMMERCE
Despite the differences in how people interpret what privacy is to them, they are almost all in agreeance that E-Commerce companies collect personal data from their online visitors. "...a great many online Americans are fretful about the things that could happen to them online and the way that in which data about them might be gathered and used. An overwhelming majority of Internet users (84%) are concerned about businesses or people they don't know getting personal information about themselves or their families. Some 54% say they are very concerned." (PEW) Target marketing is becoming such a refined tool for businesses, that the information collected on their shoppers can actually become a tangible asset for the company. But as was mentioned previously, many internet users expect that the information to remain confidential. But many businesses have increasingly begun to change positions on their pledges to their customers and this is increasing privacy concerns. In once case, "the Federal Trade Commission forced a bankrupt ToySmart.com to abandon it's plans to sell off customer data to the highest bidder." (PEW) It was determined by a court-appointed overseer that this collected information was a valuable asset that should be sold to eliminate some of it�s debt. Noticable changes in E- Commerce companies Policy Statements have begun changing from original promises of privacy forever. Two large companies, Yahoo! and eBay have made changes which basically state that if the company is sold, or even subsidiaries of are sold, then the personal informatuon it holds will get transferred to the buyer. (Perfectly Private) An alarming example of how far some E-commerce businesses are taking information gathering is a matching technique America Online has used to match its active members list to demographic and psychographic information held by Donnelley Marketing. (EPIC) This would allow an E-commerce company to match the information they have obtained with information that people usually may not divulge online, such as income. Some E-commerce sites have done better to recognize the value people place on their privacy. Some sites have incorporated the use of third party privacy seals that assures visitors to the site that the E-commerce site is abiding by its posted privacy policy. Privacy seals like those offered by BBBOnline and TRUSTEe, give people the opportunity to report E-commerce sites whenever situations arise that alert users that the E-commerce company may not be behaving as they have promised to do.