Survey after survey tells us that consumers strongly prefer to conduct business when they feel that their privacy preferences will be respected. Companies that fail to create a climate of trust for their consumers will quickly compromise consumer confidence and, ultimately, business. Those companies that stand by a consumer's privacy preferences will gain consumer confidence, retain customers, and clearly benefit. Honoring privacy preferences comes down to trust and good business. As IBM's CPO, one of my top priorities is to keep a constructive dialog going on the issue of privacy with our policy makers.
Privacy is an issue that requires a close collaboration between the public and the private sector.