Consumer-Driven Data Privacy in E-Commerce

Over the last few years, companies have been trying to position themselves as the new champions of privacy in an increasingly hostile world to leaks, intrusive ads, and data breaches. As a result, consumer-driven data privacy has the potential to make a significant difference.

The data business is a complex relationship that provides benefits for the consumer experience but poses risks when consumer data is not handled appropriately or used for other purposes without explicit consent. Consumers are becoming more aware of issues around data ownership, which are at the heart of many efforts to restrict big corporations' use of it.

Consumer Actions to Protect Their Privacy

Although not many people are taking measures to protect their data, an increasing number of users are becoming more proactive. A significant percentage of people surveyed in the McKinsey report said they cleared cookies or browser history, didn’t use a website if asked for their real names, posted comments anonymously, encrypted communications, or used ad blockers. Even more significant is how consumers are coalescing into groups like Open Rights Group, Privacy International, Access Now, and others to take action against data managers.

The Push for Consumer-Data Protection

Pressure over data privacy has led to the enactment of privacy laws, the most prominent of which are Europe’s GDPR compliance and Brazil’s General Personal Data Protection Law, which lays down guidelines and fines defaulters. Over 120 countries now have some form of regulation, but the effort will be in its implementation and cooperation among different regulators and big businesses. Consumer-protection initiatives like “the right to be forgotten” or “the right to erasure” will be frequently tested in court, and the subsequent rulings will determine how and where these regulations come into effect.

The Upside of Compliance for Business

Complying with consumer-driven data privacy in e-commerce or being seen to be making an effort has huge benefits for companies who are now trading in the trust economy. You only need to look at Apple’s engaging privacy ads to see how it’s positioning itself as the leader in this movement. Companies are now investing billions into privacy, and there’s an emergence of start-ups helping businesses to get up to speed with compliance. The future belongs to those who can earn consumer trust.

The pressure will continue to mount on companies big and small to provide more protection for consumers, so it’s incumbent on them to learn what consumers fear and prefer and work on making e-commerce safe for everyone. This plan will need collaboration between makers, users, governments, and international organizations that will have to arbitrate when the rules are murky or broken.

Sweet Tips from Ally:

Here are some important data privacy reminders for online users:

• Don’t share your phone number if you don’t have to
• Beware of public Wi-Fi
• Know the hallmarks of a phishing scam
• Consider a password manager
• Encrypt data on your USB drives and SIM cards
• Anti-malware protection is an absolute necessity