With the Phorm trials currently making headlines, it is no surprise to find that the issue of web privacy is once again a key concern for many web users.

Social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, enable members to post personal information which could compromise users’ privacy. However, for businesses, this huge mine of information is gold dust; allowing them to target specific customers with brand messages.

Leigh Himel, VP of Strategy and Innovation at digital specialists, Blast Radius, believes that the increase in businesses mining data has lead to this growing concern.

“Certain groups of users have always been concerned about online privacy.  What we have been seeing over the last number of years however, with the proliferation of web services and business models that are based upon the usage of customer data, is a polarisation of the debate. The argument from those that capture the data is often based on the idea of fair value exchange – they provide customers with a so called “free service” and in return they gather customer data in order to pay for the monthly bills,” she said. 

“However, it tends to put the onus on the customer to truly understand any implications and negates often corporate social responsibility.  What is a corporation’s obligation? In the end, it’s not necessarily the organisation but their customers who will decide.”

While privacy boundaries are not yet forcing users to avoid certain sites, new research suggests that the general public is still uncomfortable with web content that is customised to their profiles – at least for now. The study by Harris Interactive questioned 2,513 US adults and found that the majority were sceptical about the practice of websites tailoring web content to a person’s online behaviour. Six out of ten were not comfortable with websites such as Google and Yahoo! using information about a person’s online activity in order to develop more relevant content.

According to Dr. Alan F. Westin, Professor of Public Law and Government Emeritus at Columbia University, Principal of the Privacy Consulting Group, Internet users expect more than free content for advertisements appearing on pages.

"Websites pursuing customised or behavioural marketing maintain that the benefits to online users that advertising revenues make possible – such as free emails or free searches and potential lessening of irrelevant ads – should persuade most online users that this is a good trade-off. Though our question flagged this position, 59 percent of current online users clearly do not accept it," he said.

However, it was also found that when four potential recommendations for improving website privacy and security policies were introduced, US adults were much more open to the idea. Key points from the Federal Trade Commission’s current publication about the adoption of possible self-regulatory principles for online behavioural advertising were suggested to the respondents. The body recommends that websites should:

· Offer users some choices about the type of tailored content and advertising shown to them

· Apply reasonable security measures to safeguard online user information

· Promise not to share any user’s personally identifiable consumer information from their online activities with other companies without the user’s consent

When these were suggested, just over half (55 per cent) of US adults indicated that they would be more comfortable with companies using information about their online activities.

It was also found that concerns over privacy were closely tied to the user’s age group. Those between the ages of 18 and 43 were initially more comfortable with the idea than those aged 44 and over. Internet user over the age of 63 were the only group who remained uncomfortable with websites using information once the recommendations had been suggested.

According to Jim Sterne, chairman of the eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit, Internet users do not need to be overly worried about their Internet usage.

“They should be vigilant but not concerned. The vast majority of companies are using behavioural information to send better ads and better offers to the best people. There should be no concern about the technology. Technology cannot harm you. There should be no concern if the result is a website that is more relevant to you as a user. But vigilance is necessary because technology can be used in harmful ways. We should be aware of any invasions of privacy which are the result of bad actors behaving badly and not because a certain technology exists,” explained Sterne.

Dr. Alan Westin commented: "The failure of a larger percentage of respondents to express comfort after four privacy policies were specified may have two bases – concerns that web companies would actually follow voluntary guidelines, even if they espoused them, and the absence of any regulatory or enforcement mechanism in the privacy policy steps outlined in the question."

The only way businesses can gain trust is to be open and transparent to its users, says Himel. Most importantly, businesses should also have a clear opt-out option.

“It is important for companies to have transparent and well thought out privacy policies that look to balance the rights of individuals with the corporate interests. Many companies are opting to have privacy officers and means for the public to communicate any privacy concerns with them in order to have concerns addressed. Also, when intending to utilise customer data in a new way, going to your customers first and eliciting feedback and/or allowing for clear opt out options goes a long way to building longer term trust that’s integral for sustainable customer relationships.”