With the increased capabilities to provide personalized customer service, the question of online privacy has become one of the most important issues facing companies engaged in electronic commerce. Once again, the newly empowered customer is shaping online business models by demanding that sites respond to the privacy preferences of the e-commerce consumer. Consumers are concerned, but for many, the question is based on notice and trust.
Consumers are willing to share information with sites in exchange for services.
The industry is now engaged in several coordinated, proactive efforts to educate the public about the issue of trust, what they should expect from a privacy policy and what they should look for in one. The FTC also recently released figures that showed more than 90 percent of Web sites have posted privacy policies. Sites are held accountable by current law to abide by their privacy policy. Despite the criticism that these organizations are not achieving ubiquity online, the large number of pending Web site applications indicate that both the compliance organizations and the applicant companies take the compliance process very seriously. Once again, newly empowered consumers fully understand that it is the best interest of any company to protect customer privacy, driving change in the market.