AFFIRMATIVE-SOLVENCY-FAIR USE 26

FAIR USE STANDARDS CAN PROTECT PRIVACY

FAIR INFORMATION PROCEDURES MEDIATE PRIVACY CONCERNS BY EMPOWERING THE INDIVIDUAL

Mary J. CuInan & Robert J. Bies, Assoc. Prof. in School of Business & Assoc. Prof. of Management, Both at Georgetown Univ., "Managing Privacy Concerns Strategically," VISIONS OF PRIVACY: Policy Choices for the Digital Age, 1999, EE2001 - JGM, p.156

Fair information practices, therefore, mediate the privacy concerns raised by disclosure and subsequent use of personal information by empowering the individual with control and voice, even if people do not choose to invoke the procedures, as well as an assurance that the firm will adhere to a set of principles that most customers find acceptable. For example, even if outcomes are not favourable to an individual, individuals are less likely to be dissatisfied with unfavourable outcomes if they believe that the procedures used to derive those outcomes are fair. Fair information practices, then, make the 'deal' with the consumer fair.

FAIR INFORMATION PRACTICES WILL LEAD TO TRUST THUS IMPROVING THE MARKETER'S BOTTOM LINE

A marketer's vision of privacy is that consumers will be enthusiastic about disclosing all of their personal information to the marketer. As this essay has demonstrated, however, marketers will realize their vision only if they earn the trust of consumers. Marketers can earn consumer trust through procedural fairness: by saying what they do and by doing what they say. Marketers need to send a signal that they can be trusted by disclosing the rules that govern their practices when consumers first become their customers and then ensuring that their practices remain consistent with these rules over the life of each customer's relationship with the firm. Therefore, it is in the bottom-line interest of marketers to observe fair information practices because fairness can help firms both attract and retain customers.

TRUE PRIVACY PROTECTION REQUIRES A COMBINATION OF FAIR USE PROCEDURES AND PRIVACY ENHANCING TECHNOLOGIES (PETs)

Ann Cavoukian, Commissioner of the Information and privacy Commission of Ontario, "The Promise of Privacy-Enhancing Technologies," VISIONS OF PRIVACY: Policy Choices for the Digital Age, 1999, EE2001 -JGM, p. 121

The full spectrum of data security, computer and network security, physical security, and procedural controls must be deployed to protect personal information from a wide range of threats: inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure; intentional attempts at interception; data loss, destruction, or modification; and attempts to compromise data integrity and reliability. Measures that enhance security enhance privacy: the two are complementary, but not one and the same. Therefore, simply focusing on security is not enough. Security is an essential component of protecting privacy, but it is not sufficient in and of itself. For true privacy protection, fair information practices, complemented by technological solutions such as PET must be adopted.

FAIR INFORMATION REQUIRES KNOWLEDGE AND CONSENT BY CONSUMER

At the core of fair information practices are two concepts: knowledge and consent. These two concepts are reflected in the following principles. When they provide personal information, people have the right to know (a) why the information is being collected, (b) its expected uses, (c) the steps that will be taken to protect confidentiality, integrity, and quality of the information, (d) the consequences of providing or withholding the information, and (e) any means of redress available to the individual who is the subject of the information. People also have the right to control how their personal information will subsequently be used. They have the right to object to uses of their personal information when information will be collected for one purpose and used for other purposes. Fair information practices also state that personal information should not be used in ways that are incompatible with the individual's understanding of how it will be used unless there is a compelling public interest for such use.

FAIR INFORMATION PRACTICES SEND A NEEDED SIGNAL OF TRUST FROM CONSUMER TO MARKETER

Fair information practices send a signal to the customer that the firm can be trusted with the personal information disclosed by the customer. This signalling function is particularly important in consumer marketing relationships which are typically characterized by social distance; customers must depend on strangers to represent their interests.