The internet and consumer privacy - shopping basket or too hard basket

Abstract

The Internet has rapidly become the world’s most prevalent form of communication. It can be accessed twenty-four hours a day from virtually any location in the world from a myriad of technologically savvy devices. Internet users can keep up to date with world events, watch movies, listen to music, interact with government agencies, analyse business trends, undertake research and maintain contact with people anywhere. The Internet also provides the ability for users to shop ‘online’ with virtually any product or service supplier anywhere in the world. This has created concerns regarding the use of personal information obtained through the medium of the Internet. An individual’s right to privacy is a right enshrined in legislation and through tort law. With the uptake of technology and the burgeoning use of the Internet the subject of online privacy has become a complex issue for law and policy makers both in New Zealand and internationally. The aim of this paper is to look at the online shopper or consumer and how their information could be protected. This paper looks at the key areas of privacy legislation, the storage of data and the rise of new technologies including ‘cloud’ computing and suggests that the complexity of online privacy is such that a different approach to access and use of personal information of online shoppers may be required. The rate of technology change, the enormity of the data capture situation and the international accessibility of the Internet are all factors that create an almost impossible situation for ensuring consumer privacy so this paper proposes that the onus moves away from the law and policy makers and put into the hands of the users of the Internet.</p