Design of a Measure to Assess Compliance of Internet Web Sites with Privacy Laws

Abstract

In the current trend towards the globalization of markets and the evolution of information and communication technologies, there is an inherent problem of privacy protection: it can be said that at the present there is a growing social preoccupation with the protection of privacy.-particularly with respect to personal data collection. The results of a recent study ([Wes95]) on consumers and privacy show that “three quarters (76%) of Canadians worry a lot over intrusions into their privacy.” Scepticism and fear with respect to technology explain this preoccupation, with 43% of Canadians thinking that technology is out of control. It is not surprising to learn, therefore that a great majority of Canadians (more than 70%) say that they will consider a company’s policies towards privacy and personal data protection before doing business with that company. From results of this study it should be expected that this preoccupation also exists in the United States and Europe.