A Gap in Perceived Importance of Privacy Policies between Individuals and Companies

Although several studies have examined individuals' privacy concerns and companies' privacy policy disclosures, only a few studies examined whether customers' privacy concerns are adequately addressed in companies' privacy policy disclosures. This study investigates companies' privacy policy statements and important privacy policies that individuals want to know. We examine the privacy policy statements of 136 companies from the U.S. and Canada and relate them to the results of a Web-based user survey of 210 respondents. Our findings reveal a difference in companies' privacy policies between the U.S. and Canada and a gap between what privacy policies individuals value and what companies emphasize in their privacy policy statements.