New Thinking

Privacy, Security & Trust

Will you be in court next year because you breached the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Bill 2000?

If you've never heard of this Bill, you better read on…
"The number of Australian companies utilizing the internet for data collection, unaware of potential breaches of the Bill are staggering, and as we know, ignorance is no excuse. There are even a few of our clients who don't truly appreciate the implications of content requests made for their websites. That's what prompted us to run a FREE seminar. Australian businesses need a clear and concise understanding of what their obligations are and more importantly, the risks they are taking by not following the 10 National Privacy Principles laid down in the Bill" said Mark Bergin, managing director of Thinking Internet Management and keynote speaker at the forthcoming "Privacy, Security & Trust" destination-e seminar.

We are half way through the Privacy Legislation amnesty for Australian Business. Come 21st December 2001 individuals will have legal rights and recourse as to what information you hold about them. Do you know what the 10 National Privacy Principles are according to the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Bill 2000?

According to a leading barrister, "If not managed correctly, the Privacy Amendment Bill will have a greater impact on corporate Australia than Y2K or the implementation of the GST. It cannot be taken lightly as the litigation potential for breaches of the Bill are enormous."

Insight:

Does anyone have privacy, security and trust in the Online World or do we really live in a Global Village full of nosey neighbours?

This issue is at the forefront of consumer's minds the world over. How do your customers feel when they visit your website? What impression do you want to create? 
No one wants to live in a world without trust. Without trust, you potentially face privacy and security issues. These three core values, privacy, security and trust are all equally relevant in today's world. No single value stands as more important than the other, but without a balance, none are achievable.

Privacy should be a right but is often confused with security and trust.

Security should be a method of establishing privacy but is often mislabeled as a way of creating trust.

Trust is an intangible emotion that no level of security or privacy can guarantee.

As consumers move through the process of changed purchasing habits, they look for trust beacons. Few of them consciously interrupt their journey to investigate security or privacy issues. Most want to trust, to believe in it unquestioningly and naturally move towards trusted environments. Social Clubs, religious groups, your local coffee shop or bar - all these community driven gatherings of people are dependent on trust.


Why not run this Privacy, Security and Trust test on your site.

Go to your site and 
a) see if you can find a Privacy Policy easily.
i) Can you understand the contents of the Privacy Policy or was it written by your legal department late at night?
b) look for any obvious signs that the site has security features.
i) If the site is asking for personal information and/or credit card details, are you happy about filling in the questions?
ii) Do you know what is going to happen with the information you are providing?
iii) Are you sure that the information you requested, or order you placed will be honoured?
c) look for something you can trust - a well-known brand, a street address, a contact phone number, a company history that could be checked.
i) If you didn't know your company would you trust it?
ii) Could you check the credentials of your company before you gave out personal information?

There are some obvious solutions to some of these questions, but it is quite often the intangibles that create the greatest impression. Start getting some clear direction of where you need to go with "Privacy, Security & Trust" on this journey to Destination-e.