We are working to establish practices and policies that enable mechanisms without burdensome legislation or regulation. The members of the Business Roundtable represent a broad spectrum of the U.S. economy and understand the need to provide a high level of trust and confidence in the Internet, electronic commerce, and the networked world for everyone. The BRT believes the elements of an effective privacy policy include notice, choice, access and security. Notice is easily understood policy statements on the collection, use, access and security of personal data. Choice refers to the opportunity to limit the distribution of personal data beyond that needed for valid business reasons.
Access is the appropriate and reasonable opportunity to review and correct inaccurate personal data.
And security - the enforceable assurances that appropriate steps have been taken to ensure the protection of personal data from unauthorized access and disclosure. Unfortunately, many organizations have not sought to protect their customers' right to privacy. In a Georgetown study about privacy disclosures, one-third of companies surveyed failed to post any type of privacy statement on their Web sites. Of those who did provide privacy statements, fewer than half offered any information about the security of the transactions. Just consider what the cost of insurance will be for a company that does not invest enough in information assurance.