Retail, Financial Industries Join to Protect Credit-Card Data

Article Analysis
This Article Analysis presents to businesses, consumers, and government officials a compilation of best practices for protecting personal information collected by businesses. The report analyzes the current state of federal and state law, self-regulatory industry practices, and consumer concerns surrounding the use of consumer’s personal information. This article offers ideas to guide businesses as they develop privacy policies, allowing businesses to prosper along with increasing consumer confidence. This Article presents some of the most successful and practical responses to managing privacy concerns both online and in store purchase. It is designed to be accessible to government officials, businesses, and consumers. National polls indicate that most consumers are concerned about, and opposed to, the unexpected or unintended use of personal information. However, the majority of consumers fail to exercise their rights under federal law, to opt out of having some of their information bought and sold. Consumers and businesses sometimes have conflicting agendas. On the one hand, businesses want to maximize opportunities to utilize personal information for commercial reasons, including offering goods and services to consumers. On the other hand, consumers generally want to limit the ways their personal information is utilized and want control over that information. By addressing this conflict and examining the growing concerns of businesses and consumers, this report seeks to: promote industry self-regulation and create appropriate best practices of protection for consumer’s personal information. In the United States there is no comprehensive privacy law that addresses the collection or use of personal information.