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for the convenience of shopping online. Web sites take personal information and use
it themselves, sell it to other operations and sometimes have it stolen from them.
Thus, privacy has become a key issue in the digital age because technological
advances make it easier than ever for companies to obtain personal information and
to monitor online activities, thus creating a major potential for abuse (Sykes, 1999).
People are concerned about privacy, particularly on the Internet. The study
conducted by Harris and Westin (1999) confirms this concern. Online privacy
concerns focus on the protection of “customer identifiable” information, which an
individual or other customer reasonably expects to be kept private. As the term
suggests, “customer identifiable” information is information that can be associated
with a specific individual or entity, including, for example, a customer’s name,
address, telephone number, e-mail address and information about online activities
that are directly linked to them.
It is common practice and often a necessity for companies, governments or
other organizations to collect customer-identifiable
information in order to conduct
business and offer services. For example, a telecommunications provider may
collect customer-identifiable information, such as name, address, telephone num-
ber and a variety of other information in the course of billing and providing telephone
service to a customer. Some activities on the Internet follow very familiar patterns.
Consumers signing up for an Internet access service, for example, are usually asked
to provide name, address, telephone number and credit card and other information
that is typical when the consumer orders a product or service. Similarly, business
Web sites may ask visitors to supply information about themselves, particularly
when information, services or merchandise are requested, but often simply to be
able to better target the company’s services to the customer’s interests and
requirements (Blotzer, 2000). All instances cited above are examples of how
consumers provide much information about themselves to companies that may
misuse this information, thus creating concerns for privacy. Table 1 highlights the
main privacy concerns surrounding cyber shopping and suggested remedies.
Spamming-Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail
When consumers receive many e-mails from unknown friends and organiza-
tions, this privacy intrusion is known as “spam” or receiving unsolicited commercial