Page 279 - Foundations of Marketing

246 Part 3 | Customer Behavior and E-Marketing

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storefronts on Facebook. For the business that wants to compete on price, digital marketing
provides unlimited opportunities.

LO 5 . Identify legal and ethical ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES
considerations in digital media
and electronic marketing.
How marketers use technology to gather information—both online and offline—raises
numerous legal and ethical issues. The popularity and widespread use of the Internet grew so
quickly in the 1990s that global regulatory systems were unable to keep pace, although today
there are a number of laws in place to protect businesses and consumers. Among the issues of
concern are personal privacy, fraud, and misappropriation of copyrighted intellectual property.

Privacy

One of the most significant privacy issues involves the use of personal information that com-
panies collect from website visitors in their efforts to foster long-term relationships with
customers. Some people fear that the collection of personal information from website users
may violate users’ privacy, especially when it is done without their knowledge. Hackers may
break into websites and steal users’ personal information, enabling them to commit identity
theft. Mobile phone payments are another source of concern. Consumers worry that their
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information could be hacked, or their phones could be targeted with malware. Many of
these breaches occur at banks, universities, and other businesses that contain sensitive con-
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sumer information. This requires organizations to implement increased security measures to
prevent database theft.
Google and other Internet companies have also come under fire for privacy issues. Google
paid a record FTC fine of $ 22.5 million after bypassing the privacy settings on the Safari Web
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browser despite ensuring users that the privacy settings protected them from being tracked.
Another Internet privacy issue occurring more frequently is “scraping,” an activity where com-
panies offer to collect personal information from social networking sites and other forums.

Online Security
Both firms and government
agencies such as the Federal
Trade Commission are working
to protect consumer privacy © iStockphoto.com/alengo
and prevent unauthorized
access to consumers’
information.

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