Online versus Offline Privacy
As more firms practice relationship marketing and develop customer databases, privacy
issues are emerging as an important topic. Consumers and public interest groups are
scrutinizing—and sometimes criticizing—the privacy policies of firms and raising
concerns about potential theft of online credit card information or other potentially
sensitive or confidential financial information. Others maintain online privacy fears are
unfounded and that security issues are as much a concern offline. They argue that the
opportunity to steal information exists virtually everywhere, and it’s up to consumers to
protect their interests.
Instructions:
Take a position: Privacy is a bigger issue online than offline versus Privacy is no different
online than offline
1. Take a position based on what you think is a bigger issue Online privacy or Offline
privacy
2. Justify your position
Answer:
Privacy is a bigger issue online than offline
Privacy is a more prominent issue online because personal data has a higher tendency to
be exposed to numerous people compared to face-to-face transactions. Online safety and security
are unstable, thus making it accessible to corrupt private information. Transactions happening
online are not highly secured because some companies are not taking the necessary precautions to
protect the personal data of their clients. In online transactions, when a customer purchases a
product in an online shop, the automated payment gateways collects and saves the transaction data,
which grants the chance for hacking activities. Hackers will then use this information for illegal
purposes.
According to an article entitled "5 Reasons why online transactions fail", one of the most
frequent difficulties that online stores and customers encounter whenever online payments are
involved are unsuccessful transactions. The first cause of failing transactions is internet
connectivity because any issues regarding internet connection can stop online payments from
processing. Second is downtime or maintenance because the process of payment cannot complete
if a customer fails to make purchases during the given time restriction. The third is authenticity
because bank systems usually trace the spending patterns of a customer, and it may flag the
payment process if the system detects signs of a security threat. Fourth is the wrong data because
online transactions have a sensitive authenticating system, which any transaction with mismatched
and incomplete information will fail to process payment. Lastly, is balance because online
shoppers should continually check their balance before making an online payment as well as