A Comparative Study of Privacy Protection Practices in the US, Europe, and Asia

Abstract

This article describes how national and international companies in the US and Europe, as well as newly industrialized countries such as China and India, are striving to gain consumer trust by offering visible and meaningful Privacy Protection Policies (PPP) on their websites. This article deploys large sets of data and descriptive indicators to compare and contrast the extent of the visibility, specificity, and lucidity of privacy policies posted by interactive companies on the Internet. Examining about 2000 Interactive companies in the USA, Europe, and Asia provides a measure of divergent responses to the growing demand for privacy protection. The results of this comparative study should help interested readers from the business world, academics, and administrations get a grasp of the extent of efforts by international corporations to protect personal information privacy in an increasingly global economy.