Dirt Bikes’s management wants to make sure it has policies and procedures in pla

Question

Dirt Bikes’s management wants to make sure it has policies and procedures in place to protect the privacy of visitors to its Web site. You have been asked to develop Dirt Bikes’s Web site privacy policy. The TRUSTe Web site at www.truste.com describes privacy best practices to help you draft Dirt Bikes’s privacy policy. You can also examine specific companies’ privacy policies by searching for Web site privacy policies on Yahoo!, Google or another search engine. Prepare a report for management that addresses the following issues: • How much data should Dirt Bikes collect on visitors to its Web site? What information could it discover by tracking visitors’ activities at its Web site? What value would this information provide the company? What are the privacy problems raised by collecting such data? • Should Dirt Bike use cookies? What are the advantages of using cookies for both Dirt Bikes and its Web site visitors? What privacy issues do they create for Dirt Bikes? • Should Dirt Bikes join an organization such as TRUSTe to certify that it has adopted approved privacy practices? Why or why not? • Should Dirt Bikes adopt an opt-in or opt-out model of informed consent?

Explanation / Answer

1. Dirt Bike should focus on collecting those data points regarding its visitors that will help and enable it learn about the wants, tastes and preferences of the visitors. The visitors are potential customers and the data will provide useful insights about the potential customers. In terms of how much data can Dirt Bike collect, the company can collect as much of relevant data as it wants.

2. The information that Dirt Bike could discover by tracking visitors’ activities at its Web site are information regarding the visitor's age, income, education, marital status, etc. The information is highly valuable as it will help Dirt Bike in better understanding the demographics of its potential customers. This will also allow Dirt Bike to understand why individuals are looking to buy a motorcycle and what its purchase criteria are. This will enable the company to better target the potential customers and develop products that will satisfy their wants most efficiently.

3. In terms of privacy problems, such problems will arise if Dirt Bike shares the information regarding its visitors with other companies. Dirt Bike can share this information only after getting the consent of visitors and if it does not do so then privacy problems would arise.

4. Yes, Dirt Bike should use cookies. From the point of view of its visitors use of cookies will make visiting and browsing Dirt Bike's website much easier for the visitors and potential customers. Also the cookies would benefit Dirt Bike by enabling it to provide such information to its visitors which are of interest to them. In terms of privacy issues, if the information collected by Dirt Bike from the cookies is shared or misused in any way, then privacy issues would arise.

5. Yes, I believe that Dirt Bikes should be a part of TRUSTe to certify that it has adopted approved privacy practices. By adopting the approved privacy practices Dirt Bike will develop a level of trust amongst its visitors. The visitors will trust the website and the brand as they see that the organization is taking efforts to protect their privacy.

6. Keeping in mind the need to protect the interest of the visitors and potential customers, Dirt Bike should adopt an opt-in model of informed consent. Opt-in requires the active consent of the visitors and although this approach will not allow Dirt Bike to collect as much information as it would ideally like, in the long run such a model would ensure that all the visitors are happy. This would increase the equity of the brand.

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