Page 627 - Encyclopedia of Business and Finance

eobf_P 7/5/06 3:18 PM Page 604

Private Ownership

standards for electronic health-care transactions. This sec- will continue to be the most efficient method of storing
ond emphasis addresses the privacy and security of health- and retrieving information. Personal privacy and security
care information. Additional privacy requirements were are best ensured when individuals take personal responsi-
added in 1999 and approved in 2001; compliance was bility to protect themselves. Being aware of how identities
required in 2003. may be stolen, precautions to take when providing sensi-
In response to the increase in phishing and pharming tive information, and procedures to repair credit will best
scams, the Anti-Phishing Act of 2005 was proposed. This ensure personal privacy and security.
bill, if enacted, proposes a $25,000 fine and/or a five-year SEE ALSO Consumer Advocacy and Protection; Cyber
prison sentence for individuals who are found guilty of Crime; Identity Theft
fraudulently obtaining personal information using corpo-
rate Internet sites or e-mails.
Lisa E. Gueldenzoph
Mark J. Snyder
CONCLUSION
It is apparent that cyberspace has become and will con-
tinue to be a major concern to both individual and orga-
nizational privacy and security. Although legislation is PRIVATE OWNERSHIP
becoming more substantial, it severely lags behind the SEE Entrepreneurship
pace of technology, forcing the burden of responsibility
onto the individual. To maintain personal privacy and
security, experts suggest following certain guidelines when
using credit cards and communication devices (including PRODUCT LABELING
telephones and computers):
The label on a product is an important selling point for a
1. When conducting business online (e.g., paying bills company’s product. Of all product purchase decisions, 70
and shopping), provide only the necessary informa- percent or more are made at the point of purchase, and
tion to process the transaction. Optional informa- the product label is an important element in assisting con-
tion would be kept in a database and potentially sumers to make those decisions. Product labels perform
connected to an account for identification purposes. several functions: to identify the product; to promote the
2. Create unique passwords and personal identification product; and to provide essential, often required, informa-
numbers that are not easily determined or based on tion about the product and its use. Thus, the product
such obvious information as home address, phone label may make or break the sale of a product. In addition
number, or date of birth or anniversary. to the marketing aspect, certain legal requirements must
be met in order for the label to be compliant with federal
3. To surf the Internet without leaving behind a per- regulations. When a company designs a label it must take
sonal trail, use an anonymous connection such as an
all of these factors into consideration.
open computer lab at a school, university, or library.
When using a personal computer system, delete
cookies and regularly run virus, spyware, and adware IDENTIFICATION
tools. The brand name is the central focus on the label for iden-
tifying a product. Nevertheless, such elements as the
4. Although many consumers are wary of paying rou-
tine bills online, research indicates that paper bills logos, brand marks, color schemes, designs, and graphics
may also serve to identify a specific brand. The opportu-
and statements are stolen more easily from mail- nity to quickly identify a specific product is often impor-
boxes. Online statements are more easily monitored
tant to consumers, because it allows them to choose a
and should be routinely checked on a weekly basis.
brand with which they have had experience or previous
5. Everyone is entitled to request a free credit report knowledge. Additionally, the identification of the manu-
each year from each of the three credit reporting facturer and/or distributor is often required and may be of
agencies: Equifax (http://www.equifax.com), Exper- interest to the buyer.
ian (http://www.experian.com), and TransUnion
(http://www.transunion.com). This process may be
initiated at http://www.AnnualCreditReport.com. PROMOTION
The brand name may be enough to persuade a consumer
Legislation and organizations make every effort to to buy a particular product, but often the label must also
protect privacy and security, but computerized databases promote the product. Creative, attractive, and colorful

604 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION