A New Glitch In The Issue Of Privacy

In my last column (reprints available through DM News), we discussed the critical issue of name ownership within the electronic realm of cyberspace. Key to this issue was recognition that the transaction between a user and an advertiser generates information belonging to that advertiser, not the service provider hosting the advertiser.

However, due to the organization and use of the Internet's World Wide Web, a new element comes to light, which is being referred to by agencies and cybermarketers as "clickstream" information.

Individuals typically traverse the World Wide Web by starting with their favorite site and then jumping to other sites by clicking on hypertext (represented as an underlined word) or hypermedia (usually a graphic button) links. The links instruct the browser software to view another URL address -- to the user, they are connecting from one Web site to another. New technologies, implemented at the server level of the Web's infrastructure, allow one to track a very long and detailed path of where that individual was and exactly what sites, buttons and links he or she clicked on.

This type of tracking is the cyber-equivalent of a private eye who follows your every move. With the tremendous variety of information that's available on the Web, certainly a great deal of it falls into the realm of things that individuals usually prefer to keep private. The public has proven their unwillingness to let information about their telephone numbers and calling habits become a revenue center for phone service providers; there is every reason to believe they would be similarly unwilling to let their clickstreams become revenue-generating product.

There are companies already in the process of bringing this data to the marketplace. They seek to present this data as a mechanism for building a "super-profile," that would in turn, allow marketers to super-customize marketing messages for cybersurfers. The theory is that these custom-tailored ads could be specific to the point of an individual computer, based on the clickstream data gathered from that terminal.

Tracking and documenting an Internet user's clickstream is analogous to the situation that currently exists in the telecommunications industry, regarding calling records kept by telephone service providers, and pay-tv providers documenting specific movies that customers have rented. Similar privacy issues have already been raised, although not completely settled, by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

While studying the privacy concerns associated with an individual's subscription or use of the industries services, the NTIA has revealed a lack of uniformity among existing privacy laws. In fact, similar services are governed differently depending on how they're delivered.

For example, the policies established in the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988 cannot be applied to telecommunications. And, specifically, services like those available over the Internet are almost entirely unprotected. Undoubtedly, the Internet and the nature of its delivery will further muddle the legal debate.

The questions policy makers must grapple with are: what level of privacy protection adequately balances the legitimate interest of individuals and marketers; whether existing laws and regulations provide the desired level of protection; and, if not, what changes should be made. At the very least, the already established principles of provider notice and customer consent must apply.

However, this may well be a situation where individuals must take charge and not wait for our sluggish government to grant or repeal permission for our actions. The laws of the marketplace are much swifter, and self-regulation is in order.

While there may be a sincere attempt to market clickstream data, any marketer considering that type of purchase must ask two questions: One, will this data provide any greater benefit to my marketing efforts than traditional (and legal) methods of marketing research? and two, Is this an ethical business practice?

Already, we have mountains of data for marketing profiles. Through established, effective and ethical means, we can gather even more mountains. Do not let the easy availability of this information lead you to believe it is of greater worth in developing marketing efforts. And what if a marketer used clickstream data to personalize marketing communications to, say, a 45-year old male user. Will those personalized messages be appropriate when his 16-year old daughter uses the computer?

And then the question of ethics. Personal ethics aside, from a strictly bottom-line perspective, will your customers feel this is an ethical practice? Do the potential financial benefits of acquiring and using this controversial resource outweigh the goodwill of customers and industry peers?

The entire concept of clickstream tracking is in direct violation of an individual's privacy. The Web promises enormous economic, social and cultural benefits to our country. However, unless there are proper safeguards in place, there is an enormous potential for abuse. Marketers themselves must take the lead in preventing the abuse. To unlock the full potential of the Web, we must acknowledge and protect the privacy interests of all its users. Individuals do not globally publish such information for anyone and everyone to analyze and use. Neither should companies seeking to profit from it.