Privacy issues on the Internet

An increasing number of people are using the Internet, in many instances unaware of the information being collected about them. In contrast, other people concerned about the privacy and security issues are limiting their use of the Internet, abstaining from purchasing products online. Businesses should be aware that consumers are looking for privacy protection and a privacy statement can help to ease consumers´ concerns. New Zealand based Web sites are expected to have privacy statements on their Web sites under the New Zealand Privacy Act 1993. The incidence of the information gathered from New Zealand Web sites and their use of privacy statements is examined. In particular, Web sites utilizing cookies and statements about them are scanned. Global consistency on Internet privacy protection is important to boost the growth of electronic commerce. To protect consumers in a globally consistent manner, legislation, self-regulation, technical solutions and combination solutions are different techniques that can be implemented.