Consumers don't really benefit from the online commerce industry knowing their every move. Regardless of any future laws, we will never eradicate the personal data that companies have already collected. DoubleClick, a global Internet advertising company, has collected about 100 million consumer profiles. With every online move you make, you help these marketers validate the data and increase its value. They are the only ones required to give the customer the chance to opt out before, say, combining customer information from different divisions and sharing it with third parties.
Internet users are clearly concerned about privacy.
Businesses worldwide holding personal profiles should be required by law to handle the information with respect and use it only for the purpose for which it was first authorized. Right now, however, unless online companies give users the opportunity to opt out, the users can choose only between being watched or leaving the site. One digital wallet company, Passcenter, relies solely for its income on licensing its technology for corporate use. And unless privacy becomes a priority, we'll soon have to deal with precisely targeted ads and probably some price-fixing too. Amazon, one of the most successful e-commerce sites, was recently caught selling the same DVD movies at different prices to different customers.