Term paper on Internet Privacy

Free Internet Privacy papers

Internet Censorship
When the government first developed the Internet for military purposes, they had no idea that by the time the nineties came around, nearly everyone in the world would have access to a world wide web of information. Now, the Internet has exploded into one of if not the best source of information in t

Internet Censorship
Censoring the Internet The internet offers a huge wealth of information both good and bad, unfortunately the vary nature of the internet makes policing this new domain practically impossible. The internet began as a small university network in the United States and has blossomed into a vast telecomm

the e-commerce merchant (Tanaka, 1999). Table 1 illustrates some types of information collected by websites.

Table 1

Personal Information Collected

Type of Information Number of Sites1 Percent1

Personal Identifying 335 92.8%

Demographic 205 56.8%

Personal Identifying Only 132 36.6%

Demographic Only 2 .6%

Both Personal Identifying & Demographic 203 56.2%

None 24 6.6%

1 Number and Percentage from base of 361 surveyed websites.

Source: Georgetown Internet Privacy Policy Survey: Report to Federal Trade Commission June 1999

The consumer may feel a name or address is a small price for the item or piece of information they will receive. Usually, the consumer does not understand or take the time to find out the use of the information after placement in the websites’ database.

This electronic data gathering on consumers using the Internet by e-businesses creates the demand. Businesses that use the Internet as a forum need information about its customer base. Information about a customer or group of customers is useful in making business decisions and determining marketing trends. Many businesses buy, sell, and collect information about its customers to others businesses. Information privacy has emerged as the new commodity. As websites get better at gathering personal information, there is potential for abuse; privacy becomes a greater concern, hence more business for companies which keep information secure.

The Internet caught on so quickly, many businesses did not consider customer privacy as an issue. Even today most still do not have privacy policy notices. Table 2 shows the percentage of sites with privacy policy notices.

Table 2

Of Web Sites that Collect Personal Information, Percent with a Privacy Policy Notice, By Sample

Sample Privacy Policy Notice

Percent Number

Comprehensive 2% 11 of 621

Health 2% 2 of 120

Retail 2% 2 of 123

Financial 2% 2 of 121

Most Popular 44% 47 of 108

Children 24% 46 of 188

Source: Interagency Financial Institution Web Site Privacy Survey Report, November 1999.

In a survey of 1400 Web sites in June 1998, the Federal...