Thought I'd find one that related to the UT's home nation:
http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWSTechNews0103/01_privacy-can.htmlThursday, March 1, 2001 Privacy policies critical to online consumers
Canadian Internet users are willing to share personal information, but
only if they trust the organization that asks for it and are clear on
why it's needed, a new study says.
Contrary to popular belief, the vast majority of Canadian Internet
users have shared personally identifiable information at a Web site,
says the study by Columbus Group and Ipsos-Reid.
Seventy-four per cent of those who provided information said the
company's reputation made them feel more comfortable doing so.
And 55 per cent said a privacy policy posted on the site that explained
the company's intended use of information also was a factor.
At a time when consumer trust is the single, largest barrier to
e-commerce, this survey underscores the responsibility of companies to
clearly state their intentions when gathering customer information
through their Web sites.
"At this stage of the game, having a clearly communicated and easily
understood privacy policy in place is a competitive advantage," says
Chris Ferneyhough, vice-president of technology research at Ipsos
Reid.
"Organizations that have not yet recognized the importance of a clear
privacy policy are shooting themselves in the foot and are hindering
their efforts to build strong and long-lasting online customer
relationships."
However, as more Web sites are gathering information from users, the
misuse of this information is becoming more apparent. The survey
revealed that 18 per cent of Internet users who have shared personal
information claim to have experienced a breach of their online
privacy.
The bulk of breaches have been relatively minor: 86 per cent say they
were subscribed to unwanted e-mail marketing, and 43 per cent state
that their data was sold or transferred to a third party.
The "Canadian Inter@ctive Reid Report" is based on two separate data
collection instruments. In the first, 1,000 web users from Ipsos-Reid's
Canadian Internet Panel are surveyed online.
Panelists are chosen through random telephone surveys conducted on an
ongoing basis across Canada. Results are complemented by a further
1,500 interviews via telephone with Canadian adults in order to verify
results of the panel, and track issues among non-Internet users. The
most recent quarterly results were collected between Dec. 27, 2000 and
January 7, 2001.
--
CNEWS Staff
