The ACLU, emerging technology, and business leaders may sound like the setup of a bad joke, but its not. Join us to learn more about the ACLU of Northern Californias soon-to-be-announced Demand Your dotRights campaign linking online privacy and government surveillance. We will focus in particular on the role that companies play in establishing and safeguarding the privacy and free speech rights of their users and how companies can benefit from having strong policies that favor these rights, as described in our recent publication, "Privacy and Free Speech: Its Good for Business"
14. In a recent survey of over 1000 Americans, more than 50% said that online privacy was “ really important” Why Invest in Privacy and Free Speech?
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16. Why Invest in Privacy and Free Speech? A 2007 study concluded that users would pay $0.60 more for a $15 item in order to protect their privacy. A 2000 study estimated the total lost revenue due to privacy fears at $6 billion.
Actions can speak louder than words- and you see the reactions of customers when they feel that their information has been used in ways that they did not envision or feel that they had authorized.
Actions can speak louder than words- and you see the reactions of customers when they feel that their information has been used in ways that they did not envision or feel that they had authorized.
Hundreds of thousands of users revolted- calls for boycotts Legislative stirrings Loss of major business partners
NebuAd and its Deep packet inspection Consumer firestorm Inquiry by the House Energy and Commerce Committee Forced resignation of its founder and chief executive And again, cancellation of major business partnership,s including the fourth largest ISP in the US
Failing to protect privacy and free speech can lead to extremely expensive lawsuits and fines
Choicepoint’s security breach- $15 million in fines from the FTC, 9.4 million in legal fees, 2 miliion notifying victims of the breach. Plus a lifetime of bad publicity and a plunge in its stock price.
AT&T and Verizon- going on the fourth year of battle, costly class action lawsuits- potential hundreds of billions of dollars, massive amounts on attorney fees and on lobbyists to try to sidestep that liability.
Investing in privacy and free speech- doing the right thing for the public can be the right thing for the bottom line- generating positive press and building brand.
Qwest- can’t buy that kind of buzz. People all over the country- knowing its name and wanting to switch.
Yahoo viewed as a free speech champion.
To avoid costly mistakes that hurt the bottom line and build on successes that build the bottom line.
Easy one- keep users informed. What you may imagine will be surprise and awe- time and time again, surprise and anger
Users like control.
Just because it is technologically possible, doesn’t mean it is the best idea for the bottom line. As this primer shows, there are real prices to collecting and retaining data with abandon.
If you collect it, someone will come knocking. Whether it is the government or a third party- what you collect and how you keep it, can land you in hot water with your customers.
And as the stats earlier showed, customers want information kept between us and the company. Not shared with the government and third parties. If you become a treasure trove for fishing expeditions, customers bite back.
That’s where the Demand your dotRights Campaign comes in.