Online privacy notices need some work.
The large majority of Americans report that privacy notices are too long and complicated but acknowledge that they are important, according to a survey by Harris Interactive.
The survey also found that:
* 77% of respondents favored a short, concise privacy policy
* 70% agreed that companies should use the same summary or checklist for their privacy policies
* More than half of respondents identified six separate categories of information that they said were “very important” or “important” elements to be considered for a privacy policy
* Only 3% reviewed online privacy notices carefully most of the time while nearly 64% did not read the notices at all or have only glanced at them
* Only 12% of respondents reported reviewing financial notices carefully
* The top reasons cited for not reading privacy policies more carefully were a lack of time/interest and a high level of difficulty understanding the notices.
“That consumers care deeply about privacy matters is a given,” stated David Klaus, executive director of the Privacy Leadership Initiative which sponsored the survey. “What is new here is that for the first time we have a survey which quantifies growing consumer frustration as they wade through lengthy privacy notices.”
The survey queried 2,053 adults aged 18 and over. The complete results are available at www.understandingprivacy.org.
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