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Online Privacy: Threats and Requirements

A survey of threats, requirements, and approaches to online privacy.

This chapter is from the book

A unique area of privacy—and one of the most challenging areas—is online privacy. This chapter uses the term online privacy to refer to privacy concerns related to user interaction with Internet services through web servers and mobile apps. This is a quite distinct topic from online access to queryable databases, discussed in Section 7.7 of Chapter 7, “Privacy in Databases.” Organizations need to be concerned about online privacy in two contexts:

  • Organizations need to maintain the privacy of personal information that they collect, directly or indirectly, from online activity of users.

  • Organizations need to be concerned about privacy protection for employees who engage in online activity with services outside the organization.

This chapter covers a variety of topics related to online security and privacy. Sections 8.1 through 8.3 provide a survey of security approaches for online web access and the use of mobile apps. These approaches provide some privacy protection but are inadequate by themselves to address all privacy concerns. Section 8.4 discusses online privacy threats. Then, Section 8.5 looks at online privacy requirements and a framework for responding to these requirements. Sections 8.6 and 8.7 look in more detail at two specific online privacy issues: privacy notices and tracking.

8.1 The Online Ecosystem for Personal Data

The World Wide Web (WWW) has rapidly expanded since its introduction in the 1990s to become a near-essential infrastructure for businesses, consumers, and other users. Users access services on the web, including purchasing goods and service, online financial transactions, search engines, web-based email, and forums. But the convenience brings privacy-related concerns. Websites collect personal information explicitly through a variety of means, including registration pages, user surveys, and online contests, application forms, and order forms. Websites also collect personal information through means that are not obvious to consumers, such as cookies and other tracking technologies.

The recent explosive growth in the number of mobile apps raises similar privacy concerns. Apps connect users to services that, as part of their operation, collect a substantial amount of personal information on the users.

Figure 8.1 illustrates the many players involved in the online collection and use of personal data [FTC12].

FIGURE 8.1

FIGURE 8.1 Personal Data Ecosystem

Figure 8.1 shows three categories of organizations involved:

  • Data collectors collect information directly from their customers, audience, or other types of users of their services.

  • Data brokers compile large amounts of personal data from a number of data collectors and other data brokers, without having direct online contact with the individuals whose information is in the collected data. Data brokers repackage and sell the collected information to various data users, typically without the permission or input of the individuals involved. Because consumers generally do not directly interact with data brokers, they have no means of knowing the extent and nature of information that data brokers collect about them and share with others for their own financial gain. Data brokers can collect information about consumers from a variety of public and nonpublic sources, including courthouse records, website cookies, and loyalty card programs. Typically, brokers create profiles of individuals for marketing purposes and sell them to data users.

  • The data users category encompasses a broad range. One type of data user is a business that wants to target its advertisements and special offers. Other uses are fraud prevention and credit risk assessment.

This privacy data ecosystem raises a number of privacy-related concerns. A 2013 report to the U.S. Senate [OOI13] made the following observations about data brokers involved in the collection and sale of consumer data specifically for marketing purposes:

  • Data brokers collect a huge volume of detailed information on hundreds of millions of consumers, including consumers’ personal characteristics and preferences as well as health and financial information. Beyond publicly available information such as home addresses and phone numbers, data brokers maintain data as specific as whether consumers view a high volume of YouTube videos, the type of cars they drive, ailments they may have (e.g., depression, diabetes), whether they are hunters, what types of pets they have, and whether they have purchased a particular shampoo product in the past six months.

  • Data brokers sell products that identify financially vulnerable consumers. Some brokers compile and sell consumer profiles that define consumers in categories, without consumer permission or knowledge of the underlying data. A number of these products focus on consumers’ financial vulnerability. The names, descriptions, and characterizations in such products likely appeal to companies that sell high-cost loans and other financially risky products to populations that are likely to need quick cash.

  • Data broker products provide information about consumer offline behavior to tailor online outreach by marketers. While historically marketers used consumer data to locate consumers to send catalogs and other marketing promotions through the mail or contact via telephone, increasingly the information data brokers sell marketers about consumers is provided digitally. Data brokers provide customers digital products that target online outreach to a consumer based on the dossier of offline data collected about the consumer.

  • Data brokers operate behind a veil of secrecy. Data brokers typically amass data without direct interaction with consumers, and a number of brokers perpetuate this secrecy by contractually limiting customers from disclosing their data sources. Brokers’ privacy policies vary widely regarding consumer access and correction rights regarding their own data.

Thus, organizations that are data brokers need to have privacy policies and technical mechanisms to ensure the privacy of data collected directly from individuals.

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This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies.

Collection and Use of Information


To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including:

Questions and Inquiries

For inquiries and questions, we collect the inquiry or question, together with name, contact details (email address, phone number and mailing address) and any other additional information voluntarily submitted to us through a Contact Us form or an email. We use this information to address the inquiry and respond to the question.

Online Store

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Surveys

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Contests and Drawings

Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Participation is optional. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law.

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Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account information. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone in accordance with the users' wishes when a user submits their information through our Contact Us form.

Other Collection and Use of Information


Application and System Logs

Pearson automatically collects log data to help ensure the delivery, availability and security of this site. Log data may include technical information about how a user or visitor connected to this site, such as browser type, type of computer/device, operating system, internet service provider and IP address. We use this information for support purposes and to monitor the health of the site, identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents and appropriately scale computing resources.

Web Analytics

Pearson may use third party web trend analytical services, including Google Analytics, to collect visitor information, such as IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, pages visited and time spent on a particular site. While these analytical services collect and report information on an anonymous basis, they may use cookies to gather web trend information. The information gathered may enable Pearson (but not the third party web trend services) to link information with application and system log data. Pearson uses this information for system administration and to identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents, appropriately scale computing resources and otherwise support and deliver this site and its services.

Cookies and Related Technologies

This site uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, measure traffic patterns, control security, track use and access of information on this site, and provide interest-based messages and advertising. Users can manage and block the use of cookies through their browser. Disabling or blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of this site.

Do Not Track

This site currently does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Security


Pearson uses appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Children


This site is not directed to children under the age of 13.

Marketing


Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

  • Pearson will not use personal information collected or processed as a K-12 school service provider for the purpose of directed or targeted advertising.
  • Such marketing is consistent with applicable law and Pearson's legal obligations.
  • Pearson will not knowingly direct or send marketing communications to an individual who has expressed a preference not to receive marketing.
  • Where required by applicable law, express or implied consent to marketing exists and has not been withdrawn.

Pearson may provide personal information to a third party service provider on a restricted basis to provide marketing solely on behalf of Pearson or an affiliate or customer for whom Pearson is a service provider. Marketing preferences may be changed at any time.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information


If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal address or email address), we provide a way to correct or update that user's personal data provided to us. This can be done on the Account page. If a user no longer desires our service and desires to delete his or her account, please contact us at customer-service@informit.com and we will process the deletion of a user's account.

Choice/Opt-out


Users can always make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with certain services offered by InformIT. If you choose to remove yourself from our mailing list(s) simply visit the following page and uncheck any communication you no longer want to receive: www.informit.com/u.aspx.

Sale of Personal Information


Pearson does not rent or sell personal information in exchange for any payment of money.

While Pearson does not sell personal information, as defined in Nevada law, Nevada residents may email a request for no sale of their personal information to NevadaDesignatedRequest@pearson.com.

Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents


California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure


Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

  • As required by law.
  • With the consent of the individual (or their parent, if the individual is a minor)
  • In response to a subpoena, court order or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law
  • To protect the security and safety of individuals, data, assets and systems, consistent with applicable law
  • In connection the sale, joint venture or other transfer of some or all of its company or assets, subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice
  • To investigate or address actual or suspected fraud or other illegal activities
  • To exercise its legal rights, including enforcement of the Terms of Use for this site or another contract
  • To affiliated Pearson companies and other companies and organizations who perform work for Pearson and are obligated to protect the privacy of personal information consistent with this Privacy Notice
  • To a school, organization, company or government agency, where Pearson collects or processes the personal information in a school setting or on behalf of such organization, company or government agency.

Links


This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects Personal Information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this web site.

Requests and Contact


Please contact us about this Privacy Notice or if you have any requests or questions relating to the privacy of your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Notice


We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020