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The E-Privacy Imperative: Protect Your Customers' Internet Privacy and Ensure Your Company's Survival in the Electronic Age Mark S. Merkow, CCP, CISSP and James Breithaupt American Management Association New York, NY 2002 267 pp. ISBN 0-8144-0628-9
$34.95 (paperback)
Keywords Internet, Computer privacy, Consumer protection
Review DOI 10.1108/07363760310472290
Merkow and Breithaupt provide a comprehensive look at the privacy issues facing business and consumers. Beyond identifying these issues, the authors make specific recommendations for business in terms of developing an appropriate privacy policy. Real-world examples offer the reader the opportunity to review the issues addressed. Overall, The E-Privacy Imperative is a practical guide to understanding the privacy issues and writing privacy policy.
The authors suggest that "there has been an assault upon our individuality, a loss of identity, and a gradual erosion of our privacy" (p. 7). They suggest that privacy is a growing consumer concern online. As such, e-businesses must be prepared to address this concern. Self-regulation in the USA has left this task to individual companies. According to the authors, privacy policies should be clear, easy to understand, and in a conspicuous location on one's Web site.
Chapter I - Consumer privacy - is a discussion of consumer concerns about privacy and the Internet. The review of the arguments for self-regulation and for government regulation includes a privacy timeline and a discussion of the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) role in this cause. "According to the FTC, 92 percent of Americans show concern about their privacy and how personal information is used" (p. 23). The four fair information practices -- notice/awareness, choice/consent, access/participation, and security/integrity - are reviewed and later reported at chapter's end under the heading "Customer expectations." The authors note, " ... the likelihood of increased government regulation to protect consumer online privacy is great" (p. 14).
In Chapter 2, Merkow...