Consumer Privacy Concerns Hinder E-Business

Consumer privacy apprehensions continue to plague the Internet, according to a study conducted by Forrester Research Inc., Cambridge, Mass. Although the level of concern consumers express over online privacy dropped slightly since 1999, roughly 60% of consumers still seriously worry about what will happen to the personal information they divulge online. Consumer attitudes toward government regulation of online privacy has held nearly constant. This year, 54% of respondents believe the government should regulate how companies use customer information, compared to 61% last year and 59% in 1999. Only 6% of consumers in this year's study say the benefits of sharing personal information outweigh the risks, compared to 7% last year and 10% in 1999.