Personal
Identifiable Information
Ciara Smith
DeVry University
Abstract
This
week in our blog posting we will be talking about something a little more
personal to the general public. We all have personal or private information and
we may even be supplying that to companies online. If we are freely giving it
out or being required to give it out, what is happening to it? In the
generation of pen and paper days we could trust that our information was being
locked away in a filing system or even shredded after use, but the internet
doesn’t work this way. So, here we are, to take a deeper dive into the world of
personally identifiable information along with our favorite streaming company,
Netflix. We are going to check out the privacy policy, see what we notice, and
asses any recommendations we may or may not have. Let’s begin!
Personal
Identifiable Information
Since 2010, the concerns
for online privacy has been on the rise. However, coincidentally, the wiliness to
hand over our PII has been on the rise as well. Especially if providing the
information resulted in a discount. (Roberts, 2013) The type of information
that is capable of being shared can consist of, but not limited to, our full
names, birthdays, addresses, phone numbers, emails, credit card info, social
security number, websites we visit frequently, our most recent purchase, etc.
Generally, most of us are very willing to give out this information for the
right reasons and to companies we trust. Unfortunately, this can get into the
wrong hands or even the company we trusted could be selling or sharing this
information and we may or may not have been properly informed about this. That
is why the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other businesses and consumer-related
organizations have taken a stand to decide what can be shared, what cannot be
shared, and how the consumers are informed, on the internet.
To get a little bit of
background on the general rule of thumb, there are two types of privacy
disclosures that can be enlisted. The first is a privacy policy notice. This is
a comprehensive description of a website’s privacy practices that they have
agreed upon. It needs to be located in a single and easily identifiable place
on the website. Most likely a direct link located on the website. There have
been updates on the regulations for the policies that require them to be short
and easy to understand even though this never seems to be the case. The next
type of disclosure is an information practice statement that is a discrete
statement that requires action on the consumer to select if they would like to
be informed of future information of the company. Basically, agreeing to be put
on a type of contact list. (Roberts, 2013)
To break the disclosures
down into a little more detail, there are fair information practice principles.
We will discuss a few, the first being notice/awareness. What this is saying is
that customers should be alerted before the information is collected to allow
them to make an informed decision before providing it. This consists of the
uses of the data, who it would be shared with, methods of collecting, etc. The
next principle is choice/consent. Of course, this refers to allowing the
customer to have control of how the information will be used and letting them
decide if they will allow that option. The last one we will mention is
integrity/security. Integrity pertains to the accuracy of the information.
Security refers to the management and technical measures that protect the data.
Now that the fundamentals
are out of the way, let’s see what Netflix has in way of privacy settings. The
easiest way to find the privacy information on any website is by scrolling to
the very bottom of the webpage. Typically, all of the legal matters and privacy
information is going to be easy to find in a link down below. Netflix has a few
options but the easiest one to locate is the link stating “privacy.” Based on
compliance standards, Netflix has its link in an easy to locate spot right on
their homepage. Once clicked, this takes you to a page that explains Netflix’s
practices, including your choices regarding the collection, use, and disclosure
of personal information.
Netflix advises it collects the customer’s
name, email, address or zip code, payment method, and telephone number. It
collects this information either directly or while interacting with customer
service or via marketing promotions. They also collect information in regard to
preferences in movies and shows. Following this detail is the use of the
collected information. Netflix will use the information to determine geographic
location (this ties into the international licensing for each show that we
discussed in a previous week), to be able to coordinate with Netflix partners,
to prevent illegal activities, to be able to analyze and understand their
audience, and to be able to communicate with their customers about features and
surveys.
The information Netflix
chooses to disclose is to other Netflix family companies, other service
providers for marketing and advertising, partners as described above, promotional
offers, business transfers, and for protection of Netflix. This would be in the
event that information is requested by law. All the other shareable information
falls under the options of the customer. The customer does have the ability to
opt-out of email, text, push notifications, internet-based ads and apps.
All of the typical
information seems to fall under the standard compliance for privacy standards.
Netflix does disclose to customers about what is being shared, how and why, and
there is some opportunity to opt-out of some of those options. You can also see
that they have a sufficient billing system that protects customer's payment information.
Anything you may have questions about or need more information, Netflix does
provide a contact email. One thing that did surprise me and I would suggest being
updated is the limited information on children’s privacy. Now, you do have to
be 18 to subscribe to Netflix services, however, I am sure there are teens that
have access to bank accounts or credit cards that are signing up for services.
Netflix even offers child profiles on their accounts once signed in, so you
know they have plenty of users that are under the age of 18. What is said about
children in the privacy statement is “you must be 18 years of age or older to
subscribe to the Netflix service. In certain jurisdictions, the age of majority
may be older than 18, in which case, you must satisfy that age in order to
become a member. While individuals under the age of 18 may utilize the service,
they may do so only with the involvement, supervision, and approval of a parent
or legal guardian.” (Netflix, 2019)
Due to the high attention
to children’s privacy, I feel like there could be more detail on this portion.
Netflix does cover itself with the mention of needing adult supervision and
approval, but I feel like that minimal statement doesn’t cover much. I also
didn’t understand the part of the majority may be older than 18. I thought
being underage would be the concern and not the latter. This could be worded
better to meet the compliance of easy to understand. Overall, I do see Netflix
has disclosed to their customer how they will use the information. Nothing I
read surprised me much other than the children’s policy. With that being said,
I would give Netflix an A-.
References
Netflix. Retrieved
October 16, 2019, from https://www.netflix.com
Roberts,
Mary L., Debra Zahay. Internet Marketing: Integrating Online and Offline
Strategies, 3rd Edition. Cengage Learning, 20120328. VitalBook file.
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