《e-marketing》.pdf

VOL.4 NO.1 Privacy Protection: Fall Fall The Safe Harbor for 200 2002 2 E-Marketing B Y G E O R G E B E N J A M I N T H O M P S O N , J . D . , A N D L Y N D A S . H A M I L T O N , J . D . THE UNITED STATES IS URGING INTERNET BUSINESSES TO ADOPT SAFE HARBOR PRINCIPLES DEVELOPED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE IN ORDER TO ALIGN WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION’S STRICT INTERNET REQUIREMENTS AND FOSTER THE FREE FLOW OF COMMERCE. lients, be they buyers or sellers, demand pri- website that customer data would never be shared with vacy and confidentiality in their business another company. transactions. They insist that their rights to The U.S. Department of Commerce, long an advo- privacy cover the use, transmission, and stor- cate of industry self-regulation, has developed a volun- C age of personal information, including but tary set of Safe Harbor Privacy Principles that are not limited to their credit card numbers, addresses, tele- compatible with the European Union’s regulatory phone numbers, and buyer preferences. Those who sell scheme for data privacy. If your company sails into this goods and services through the Internet had best com- “Safe Harbor,” you can assure your clients, customers, ply with both government regulations and market and suppliers that you shelter their personal information forces. Otherwise, consumers will distrust the informa- from abusive manipulation and distribution. tion technology on which e-commerce depends, and suppliers will not continue to enjoy burgeoning sales. MARKET PERSPECTIVE ON E-COMMERCE Breach of privacy comes in many forms. For exam- PRIVACY ple, in early 2000, the theft of credit card account