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As a founding member, eBay would like to introduce NetCoalition.com (www.netcoalition.com) to our community. We recognize that your privacy is very important and must be protected. Forming NetCoalition.com is the first of many steps to come in the next few months to better address and protect your privacy concerns.
As part of Netcoalition's campaign to educate online users about privacy, they have outlined essential tips for protecting your personal information online. Read on for some practical tips for navigating the Internet with confidence, courtesy of NetCoaltion.com.
Online Privacy: What Should You Know?
Whether you are doing research, helping a child with homework, conducting business or simply exploring, you should have easy access to the information you need to understand and protect your privacy online.
Can you answer the following questions?
NetCoalition.com is the voice of leading Internet companies, united in common purpose to preserve the climate in which the Internet has flourished and encourage its continued growth. Our goal is to empower Internet users to take full advantage of the unlimited resources available to them.
- How can you protect your online privacy?
There are many ways to protect your privacy online. You have the power to control the release of your personal information over the Internet. Your Internet experience can be a safe and rewarding one if you follow a few simple, common sense guidelines:
- Take responsibility: know where to look. When you visit a website's homepage, look for a link to privacy policy. If you can't find it, remember: you are in control. You decide whether to visit another site, contact the organization to inquire about their privacy policies (typically via email), or proceed.
- Read privacy policies. Determine what type of information the site collects and for what purpose. Many sites give users the opportunity to indicate whether or not they want information collected about them.
- Don't give out your password. Keep your password to yourself. Often times, hackers and scammers try to entice people to give them their passwords. Use different passwords at different Web sites. Try to use passwords with random strings of characters rather than words - it increases the level of encryption. A good example would be: rY4,*zH.
- Decide how much information you want to disclose. When you sign up for a service or purchase a product, look for a checkbox that asks if you would (or would not) like to receive announcements for new products and services.
- How do you find out about a company's privacy policy?
Links to a company's privacy policy are usually posted on their homepage—often toward the bottom of the page. It is clearly visible by a separate link.
- What makes a good privacy policy?
A good privacy policy is easily accessible and understood. Below is a summary of recommendations by the Online Privacy Alliance, one of the groups involved in promoting sound Internet privacy practices.
- Adoption and Implementation - An organization engaged in online activities or electronic commerce has a responsibility to adopt and implement a policy for protecting the privacy of individually identifiable information.
- Notice and Disclosure - A privacy policy should be easy to find, read and understand. It should state clearly: what information is being collected; the use of that information; possible third party distribution of that information; the choices available to a user regarding collection, use and distribution of the collected information; a statement of the site's commitment to data security; and what steps the site takes to ensure data quality and access. The policy should disclose any consequences of an individual's refusal to provide information. The policy should include a clear accountability mechanism (i.e. how to contact the organization).
- Choice/Consent - Users should be given the opportunity to exercise choice regarding how personally identifiable information collected from them online may be used when such use is unrelated to the purpose for which the information was collected. Individuals should be given the opportunity to "opt out" of such use. Consent for such use or third party distribution may also be obtained through technological tools or "opt-in".
- Data Security - Sites that create, maintain, use or disseminate personally identifiable information should take measures both to assure its reliability and to protect it from loss, misuse or alteration. Also, they should take steps to assure that the third parties are aware of these security practices, and take precautions to protect any transferred information.
- Data Quality and Access - Sites that create, maintain, use or disseminate personally identifiable information should take steps to assure that the data are accurate, complete and timely. They should establish simple, easy to use mechanisms so that any inaccuracies in account or contact information, for example, may be corrected.
- If you need additional information, where do you go for help?
If you don't find what you're looking for on NetCoalition.com, visit these other sites learn more about online privacy issues:
If you can't find an answer to your question here, Ask eBay.
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