| Chapter 2: | Literature Review |
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Privacy
Privacy has been described as the claim of individuals, groups or institutions to determine for themselves when, how, and to what extent information about them can be communicated to other parties (Henderson, 1999). Privacy has been described as the “right to be left alone” (Wang et al., 1998). However, retaining privacy is more than being left alone. The key issue is to control information access, to specify what happens to information after it is shared, and to decide who has the right to use, disseminate or destroy the information. Many individuals are concerned that if they share information, it will ultimately be used for purposes not intended.
There is further concern in that the sharing of information often reduces its value. Information is subject to rivalrous consumption, meaning that sharing it reduces its value (West, 2000). Once a person reveals to an organization an email address, phone number or other information, it is not easy to take that information back. If the information is not known to the organization, consumers may be able to benefit from sharing it with them, such as being entered in a drawing or receiving discounts on goods or services. After the organization has the information, renegotiation is difficult and consumers have very little power to stop the organization from using it or sharing it with others.
Many government agencies and companies collect and analyze information on individuals. The U.S. government collects information in the form of tax returns, criminal records, motor vehicle registration, social security payments, and other government records. There are concerns with how the government gathers and uses information. Many government agencies routinely sell information to companies for marketing and other purposes. For example, state motor vehicle departments regularly sell names, addresses and address changes to direct marketers (Grupe, 1995). When someone registers for their license to drive, they also get the possibility of being directly