A Preliminary Investigation of Web Retailers' Online Privacy Practices

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2004

Abstract

This study will analyze the Web sites of online retailers identified as The 50 Best Web Retailers by Internet Retailer.com. The study examines the privacy policies and third-party seals of endorsement found on these sites. Preliminary results indicate as with previous surveys, only a small portion of the Web retailers belong to any third party seal program. Additionally, a large percentage collect personal information from consumers, and the vast majority share that information with business affiliates. Furthermore, the majority of sites require consumers to opt-out of such programs, while far fewer take the opt-in approach for sharing collected information. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research, detailing specific methodologies for data collection and analysis, along with additional sampling procedures for comparative analysis.

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