Shopping for Privacy Online: Consumer Decision-making Strategies and the Emerging Market for Information Privacy

James P. Nehf, Shopping for Privacy Online: Consumer Decision-making Strategies and the Emerging Market for Information Privacy, 2005 Ill. J. L. Tech. & Pol'y 1Studies show that individuals are concerned about database privacy, yet they seldom make privacy a salient attribute when deciding among competing alternatives. Although privacy policies are present on many websites, web users rarely bother to read them. This paper explores why this is so. The author identifies rational reasons why web users do not shop for privacy and discusses the implications for the expanding market for consumer information. He concludes that unless privacy becomes a salient attribute influencing consumer choice, website operators will continue to obtain and use more personal information than web users would choose to provide in a more transparent exchange.