When you watch a video on Youtube or Netflix or Amazon they will suggest new videos or movies that they think you'll like based on the ones you have watched.
When you are shopping on Amazon they will suggest similar products for you to view.
When you go to Home Depot online you'll see a popup that ask for your location, that helps direct you to their closest store.
We love those things, they are so convenient and helpful.
The way they do that is by storing information about you. We don't have any objections to THAT use of our data because it helps us.
But when we think an advertiser does it we go into a rage.
Internet Privacy
It's complicated and not very well understood. While we think we don't want any company to have any of our data, we also appreciate that some do.
Let's talk a bit about online advertising. Lots of people complain about ads following them around. Shop for something somewhere and then you see ads for the product you were looking at on other websites. Feels creepy, I know. which is why we don't usually do that.
The way that is done is the online merchant sets a cookie in your browser then when you are on a website that they advertise on they have some idea of what you are interested in, and show you related ads.
But they don't actually know who you are. And they don't care who you are. It's completely irrelevant to an advertiser who you are. All they care about is showing ads to people that might buy them. Ads are expensive so figuring out how to make the most of their advertising dollars makes sense to them.
They don't care what your name is, your age, or anything else. Knowing your approximate location does help with showing ads for local businesses. But they don't know your address, only the general area you are located in.
So advertisers actually have very little information about you personally. They don't have your personal information.
One of the things that seems to get mixed up in people's minds is they think if they can remain totally private on the web they won't see ads at all. But that's not true, you will always see ads, they just won't be relevant to things you are interested in.
Giving Away Your Privacy
One example: When people wish us a happy birthday on Facebook we think that's sweet. And then we are outraged that some companies find out when our birthdays are.
Posts on Facebook are public. So any info you post about yourself therefore becomes public information.
But Let's Talk About the Bad Guys
DATA COLLECTORS
Almost all the comments and complaints I hear about internet privacy are really about data collectors. There is not a clear understanding of the difference. They are completely different things. All these state laws have come about because of the abuses of data collectors, Not because of actual internet privacy issues.
Data collectors make their money collecting all the info they can about you. Then they sell the data to other companies. I don't know where they get their info, I assume some of it is collected illegally or at least not in a moral fashion. But I can tell you about how they got a big chunk of data from my mom. She gave it to them. There was a fake Safeway site. She went to it and then filled out a long survey.
But you probably remember how it all started, because of Facebook's relationship with Cambridge Analytica. They tricked Facebook into letting them collect a lot of data on people. But even in that case, it was all public data, that people posted, voluntarily and publicly on their FB pages.
So all that data that Cambridge Analytica collected, anyone could have got by going to someone's Facebook page. It wasn't private data. Everyone was outraged that the info they posted publicly on FB, was public. Evidently people didn't understand that posting info on a public site was public.
BTW, if you'd like more info about how to try to get your data back from data collectors click here: wired.com/story/opt-out-data-broker-sites-privacy
How Does This Internet Privacy Thing Effect Us and Our Businesses?
- 72% of people think advertisers are tracking them.
- 79% of people are somewhat or very concerned about businesses having their private data.
- 76% say they would not buy from a company who they do not trust with their information.
- 37% indicated they had indeed switched providers over data privacy practices.
So a lot of people are concerned and therefore the politicians are reacting. Mostly in ways that will make almost no difference at all. For example, giving someone the right to ask that their data be deleted from any business only makes sense if you know who has your personal information. We don't. There are too many data collector companies. For example, if you sent a request to a business website owner to have them delete all your personal information, that would mean they wouldn't have it. But they aren't data collectors, so the end result is meaningless. They are not the ones selling your information to someone else.
But the Laws the Government are Passing Will Effect Us
The company we use for our privacy policies is currently tracking 32 upcoming state laws on privacy, and 4 countries counting the US. There are currently a lot of states that already have data privacy laws (California, Virginia, Connecticut, Colorado, Utah, Iowa, Indiana, Tennessee, and Montana to name a few).
There are two things we should be concerned with:
1) Public perception
- 79% of people are somewhat or very concerned about businesses having their private information.
- 76% won't use your business if they don't trust with their information.
- 37% say they have already switched providers over the privacy concerns.
2) Laws. We need to be aware of the laws we need to follow.
For public perception if you have an online contact form you should add text that says you don't save their data, except to respond to their requests. If you are selling products online you need to let people know you don't share their data and they can request its removal at anytime. And everyone should add a statement about how serious you take data protection.
And you need to have a privacy policy.
Obeying the laws though, is complicated. Some pertain only to their citizens, but most are world wide. Some only apply to large businesses, some to all. Some only to info collected online, some to all info collected. That would be Any info you write down or enter into your computer system. That means Any info you take from them, name, phone number, email address. (some laws exclude data that is publicly available, some don't.)
Here's an example: someone from a different state calls a plumber asking them to work on their rental in their home town. The plumber writes down their name, phone number and maybe gets their billing address. If the caller's state has a privacy law that applies to all business sizes the plumber could be liable for not letting the person know about their privacy rights. Because he just took personal info from them.
So the Bottom Line
We need to remember:
- Most people have an incorrect understanding of Internet Privacy.
- 79% of people are concerned about giving you their info.
- 76% say they won't use your services if they don't trust you with their info.
- 37% have already switched providers over their concerns.
So you need to be aware and address those concerns.
The Other Thing We Need to Remember
Following all the current and upcoming laws is going to be tricky. Which is why my company uses a service run by a credentialed privacy expert attorney whose team monitors all the laws for us. So you need be sure your privacy policies are up to date.
That Gives You Two Action Items
- Address privacy concerns on your website or as you talk with customers.
- Be sure your current privacy policy protects you.
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Even if you don't hire us we'd be happy to help you!