By Brian Walsh
I try not to repeat myself. But you're obviously not listening. I really need you to do the right thing and fix a glaring omission on that expensive electronic-commerce site of yours. Back in the December 1996 issue of Network Computing, I wrote "Privacy Stewardship On Your Net" (see www. nwc.com/720/720colwalsh.html). My argument then needs to be repeated today: "You have as much responsibility for the privacy of others and appropriate use of data as you have for any other facet of the network infrastructure. For example, you probably have, or at least you should have, an explicit plan and policy for network security in place, likewise for the basics such as data backup. As network professionals, we spend our professional lives as the stewards of other people's data. The popularity of the Web exposes the fact that we have overlooked our most basic responsibility: the privacy of data."
 That column laid out--in a rational, reasoned tone--why it's a good idea to take other people's privacy seriously. But you didn't listen, did you? Now the FTC has decided its raison d'etre is proving that self-regulation has failed and the only solution is to impose a fix, and it's all your fault!
I checked every Web site I've visited over a two- week period, including Network Computing's, and I didn't see one posted privacy policy. What about your site? Point proved, the FTC is right, self-regulation has failed, would those without a clue please call the people in Congress and beg them to regulate privacy and commerce on the Internet? By facilitating transactions without ensuring consumer privacy, the Web hasn't improved current business practices, but rather, improved efficiency over a new medium. So now, instead of buying and selling mailing lists, we say we're handling "Intrasite Visitor Data."
Don Quixote in Cyberspace In a sense, I'm running at windmills. I don't sense an identifiable movement pushing for privacy assurances on the Web.
I spoke with a Web-site log-analysis software vendor recently and asked about security and the privacy of user's data. The response--"That's something we don't get a lot of requests for"--was disheartening. We would be much better off if we took some of the energy we expend bashing Microsoft and channeled it to privacy issues. Where's Ralph Nader when you need him? Unfortunately, privacy doesn't seem to fire consumer passions in the '90s the way Corvair crashes did in the '60s.
But even if there's no loud protest about privacy, users' actions speak volumes. According to eTrust, an independent, non-profit Web privacy initiative, Web users' concerns about privacy are measurable. For example, 76 percent of users express concern over sites monitoring their browsing on the Internet, according to a BCG consumer survey published by eTrade. And 40 percent of users have provided false information at least once while registering at a Web site, according to a Georgia Tech survey.
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Other Articles
by Brian Walsh
The Nuts and Bolts of Business-to-Business E-Commerce
March 1, 1998
Your E-Commerce Site: Build, Buy Or Rent?
April 1, 1998
Mischief, Malfeasance And Misplaced Trust
May 1, 1998
Will Sybase's Future Be Glorious Or Grim?
June 1, 1998
Skip This Page. You Don't Have The Time To Read.
July 1, 1998
Other Columnists
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