Privacy on the Web Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Privacy on the Web - Essay Example Although web providers guarantee the confidentiality of user data, security of customer information is often compromised due to several reasons and this situation negatively affects users’ privacy on the web. This paper will apply the decision making framework to analyze ‘privacy on the web’ and discuss the ethical approach that comes closest to the decision made. Decision Making Framework Reynolds (2011, P. 18) has outlined five phases in the decision-making process such as developing problem statement, identifying alternatives, evaluating and choosing alternatives, implementing decision, and evaluating results. Stakeholders affected by the decision are identified in the problem statement phase without making any assumption. Evidently, internet users are the primary stakeholders of any decision regarding the privacy on the web because they face increased threat to confidentiality and security of their personal data on the web. In addition, marketers represent ano ther major stakeholder group because the way the privacy on the web is protected can greatly affect the users’ confidence in organizations, which in turn would significantly influence organizations’ business growth. The government and other official authorities concerned are some other main stakeholders because they are responsible for securing the privacy of users on the web. There are many ways to protect users’ privacy on the web. First, strict website policies can greatly promote user privacy on the web because websites directly receive and store abundant customer data such as name, contact numbers, and credit card details. Secondly, well stated technical and privacy policy protections can enhance privacy on the web to a great extent. Thirdly, some recent proposals for government regulations can be a better alternative to promote the confidentiality of internet users. As Tracy, Jansen, Scarfone & Winograd (2007) report, tt seems that organizations often comp romise their website policies to entertain their personal interests and this situation in turn negatively affects security of user information on the web. Similarly, technical and privacy policy protections may not often ensure privacy on the web considering the growing prevalence of computer hacking and other malware attacks. Hence, it is better to choose new proposals for government regulations as a potential strategy to enhance privacy on the web. When the government directly regulates organizations’ privacy protection policies, privacy on the web is likely to be protected effectively. In order to ensure government intervention in user privacy protection on the web, it is vital to define the areas where the government can regulate and restrict websites’ activities. It is advisable for the government to strictly limit websites’ rights to use customer information/data beyond the purpose for which the data/information was actually collected. Finally, it would be better to establish a separate governmental agency to monitor websites’ efforts to secure privacy on the web. The governmental agency must comprise policymakers, law professionals, and technical experts. Undoubtedly, the direct government control over websites’ privacy protection practices can be effective to manage different challenges to privacy on the web. This approach will certainly promote the interests of organizations, online customers, and government authorities. However, this privacy protection