the e-commerce merchant (Tanaka, 1999). Table 1 illustrates some types of information collected by websites. Table 1Personal Information CollectedType of Information Number of Sites1Percent1Personal Identifying33592.8%Demographic20556.8%Personal Identifying Only13236.6%Demographic Only2.6%Both Personal Identifying & Demographic20356.2%None246.6%1 Number and Percentage from base of 361 surveyed websites.Source: Georgetown Internet Privacy Policy Survey: Report to Federal Trade Commission June 1999The 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 2Of Web Sites that Collect Personal Information, Percent with a Privacy Policy Notice, By SampleSamplePrivacy Policy NoticePercentNumberComprehensive2%11 of 621Health2%2 of 120Retail2%2 of 123Financial2%2 of 121Most Popular44%47 of 108Children24%46 of 188Source: Interagency Financial Institution Web Site Privacy Surve...
