In this situation there isa very real danger that the question of privacy might be hijacked by those with a narrowoutlook on the problem. Perhaps the more significant public concern is one of trust rather thanprivacy. One guideline often applied is that data, especially personal data, should onlybe used for the purposes for which it was gathered, and by those to whom it was directlysupplied. From thepoint of view of increasing competitiveness, it could be argued there are virtues inallowing organisations to exploit data from outside their own sector. The public concern is with trust rather than privacy.
Customers tend to be looking to have choice over privacy and trustthat works.
There is a need for greater clarity on, and awareness of, theappropriate rules for passing personal data between organisations. In practice there may need to be stronger protection mechanisms overprivacy within the workplace than in the market place.