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Protecting consumers' Web privacy can provide a competitive advantage
1 commentIt's good news when giant Web operations start competing based on whose privacy practices are better. As in, "my privacy policy's better than yours." Here's the summary of a Wall Street Journal article today (subscription required):
Microsoft, Ask and Yahoo are planning new policies to protect the private information of users of their search services, as competition on privacy heats up.
(Update: Our version of the story is here at Computerworld.com.) Without getting into the details here, overall this is the good sign. It means privacy is now a "feature" that deserves its own bells, whistles, customizable options and marketing push. Privacy is now seen as something that can give a company a competitive edge with consumers.
Of course, this isn't a privacy panacea. The new moves deal mostly with how long search engines keep your search history -- and there are a bunch of other Web privacy issues that need addressing, too. But at a time when privacy has been slipping badly, it's nice to see a glimmer of good news coming from Corporate America.
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Related: What's your company's privacy strategy? (Column by Jay Cline on privacy as a competitive advantage)
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