How one simple rule change could curb online retailers' snooping
I spent last week studying the 26,000 words of privacy terms
published by eBay and Amazon, trying to extract some straight answers, and
comparing them to the privacy terms of other online marketplaces such as Kogan
and Catch (my full summary is here).
There’s bad news and good news.
The bad news is that none of the privacy terms analysed are good.
Based on their published policies, there is no major online marketplace
operating in Australia that sets a commendable standard for respecting
consumers’ data privacy.
All the policies contain vague, confusing terms and give consumers
no real choice about how their data are collected, used and disclosed when they
shop on these websites. Online retailers that operate in both Australia and the
European Union give their customers in the EU better privacy terms and defaults
than us, because the EU has stronger privacy laws.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is
currently collecting submissions as part of an inquiry into online marketplaces
in Australia. You can have your say here by
August 19.
The good news is that, as a first step, there is a clear and
simple “anti-snooping” rule we could introduce to cut out one unfair and
unnecessary, but very common, data practice.
Deep in the fine print of the privacy terms of all the above-named
websites, you’ll find an unsettling term.
It says these retailers can obtain extra data about you from other
companies, for example, data
brokers, advertising companies, or suppliers from whom you have
previously purchased.
Read
more: It's
time for third-party data brokers to emerge from the shadows
eBay, for example, can take the data about you from a data broker
and combine it with the data eBay already has about you, to form a detailed
profile of your interests, purchases, behaviour and characteristics.
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