Information Privacy
and Marketing:
WHAT THE U.S. SHOULD (AND
SHOULDN'T) LEARN FROM EUROPE
H. Jeff Smith
A
A
few years ago, I spent a week in Sweden meeting with various individuals
who were interested in issues of information privacy. After
talking for a number of hours with employees at the Data Inspection
Board (DIB), Sweden's federal regulatory agency for privacy, I interviewed
several executives in the country's private sector. I soon realized that at
least half of each discussion was spent in trying to narrow the gap in our collective
understanding of one another's privacy environment. The Swedes simply
could not identify with my American tales of data collection regarding consumers'
backgrounds, purchases, and histories; the compilation of these data into
various sorts of profiles; and the trading of this information between various
entities. That most of this was done with little or no governmental oversight
was perplexing to them. On more than one occasion, my Swedish compatriot
responded along the lines of "you Americans just don't seem to care about privacy,
do you?"
At the same time, it was almost impossible for me to identify with the
Swedish approach to privacy regulation, which requires corporations and other
entities to register all databases containing personal information with the DIB
and to secure advance permission from the DIB before using certain data.' Furthermore,
while the frequency with which it has done so has varied greatly over
the years, the DIB has the right to inspect the data processing operations of any
Swedish entity to ensure its compliance with privacy regulations. If the DIB
I am grateful to Mark Keil, Sandra Milberg, and the reviewers and editors of California Management
Review for their helpful connments on earlier versions of this article.This research v/as supported by the
Babcock Graduate School of Management, Wake Forest University, Research Fellowship Program. I am
indebted to... [continues]
and Marketing:
WHAT THE U.S. SHOULD (AND
SHOULDN'T) LEARN FROM EUROPE
H. Jeff Smith
A
A
few years ago, I spent a week in Sweden meeting with various individuals
who were interested in issues of information privacy. After
talking for a number of hours with employees at the Data Inspection
Board (DIB), Sweden's federal regulatory agency for privacy, I interviewed
several executives in the country's private sector. I soon realized that at
least half of each discussion was spent in trying to narrow the gap in our collective
understanding of one another's privacy environment. The Swedes simply
could not identify with my American tales of data collection regarding consumers'
backgrounds, purchases, and histories; the compilation of these data into
various sorts of profiles; and the trading of this information between various
entities. That most of this was done with little or no governmental oversight
was perplexing to them. On more than one occasion, my Swedish compatriot
responded along the lines of "you Americans just don't seem to care about privacy,
do you?"
At the same time, it was almost impossible for me to identify with the
Swedish approach to privacy regulation, which requires corporations and other
entities to register all databases containing personal information with the DIB
and to secure advance permission from the DIB before using certain data.' Furthermore,
while the frequency with which it has done so has varied greatly over
the years, the DIB has the right to inspect the data processing operations of any
Swedish entity to ensure its compliance with privacy regulations. If the DIB
I am grateful to Mark Keil, Sandra Milberg, and the reviewers and editors of California Management
Review for their helpful connments on earlier versions of this article.This research v/as supported by the
Babcock Graduate School of Management, Wake Forest University, Research Fellowship Program. I am
indebted to... [continues]
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(2012, 03). Information Privacy and Marketing: What the U.S. Should (and Shouldn't) Learn from Europe. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 03, 2012, from http://www.studymode.com/course-notes/Information-Privacy-And-Marketing-What-The-954991.html
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"Information Privacy and Marketing: What the U.S. Should (and Shouldn't) Learn from Europe." StudyMode.com. 03, 2012. Accessed 03, 2012. http://www.studymode.com/course-notes/Information-Privacy-And-Marketing-What-The-954991.html.
