The results are in: A consumer-focused study administered by the Ponemon Institute and TRUSTe highlights that eBay is the most trusted company in the USA when it comes to privacy. The top 10 most trusted companies for privacy in descending order include eBay, American Express, Proctor & Gamble, Amazon, Hewlett Packard, U.S. Postal Service, IBM, Earthlink, Citibank and Dell. Generally speaking, consumers trust Internet companies, banks and healthcare organizations the most, while companies in the hospitality and retail food industries are not regarded as deserving of privacy trust.
According to Larry Ponemon, founder and chairman of the Ponemon Institute, "this is the first study to link a consumer's perceptions of a company's ability to protect his/her personal information to specific companies and brands." Ponemon adds that "because consumers are becoming more concerned about identity theft and the safeguarding of their personal assets, a low privacy trust score could provide companies with an early warning signal that their reputation and brand loyalty might be in jeopardy."
"Companies that place a premium on privacy protection are rewarded with brand loyalty and higher levels of customer and employee satisfaction," remarks Fran Maier, president and executive director of TRUSTe. She states that "privacy is no longer a 'soft' discipline that happens through the normal course of business. Effective companies realize that they must invest in the certifications, tools and processes that result in privacy assurance and enforcement."
The study asked respondents to name one to five companies in 24 industries listed that they believed to the most trustworthy when handling their personal information. Significantly, company names were not provided, thus allowing each respondent to select freely the companies of their choosing.
Respondents were asked to answer questions about "personal information," namely "information about yourself and your family," which includes "name, address, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, Social Security number, other personal identification numbers, access codes, age, gender, income and tax information, shopping information, account activity and many other pieces of information about you." Respondents then were to address "privacy trust," namely, "your belief that the company is honoring its privacy commitments to you, and keeping your personal information safe and secure," including the company's "commitment not to share your personal information unless there is just cause or you have given your consent."
The survey yielded practically 31,000 individual company ratings with respect to 187 different companies. It was from these ratings that the top ten grouping was revealed. The second ten of companies that are trusted for privacy protection are Disney, Bank of America, Harley-Davidson, Johnson & Johnson, US Bank, Fidelity, E-Loan, VISA, Apple and Washington Mutual.
When asked, "what worries you most if your personal information was leaked to individuals or organizations that do not have a right to this information?," responses were: identity theft 76%, spam 58%, loss of liberties 48%, junk mail 37%, telemarketing abuse 36%, stolen assets 32%, public embarrassment 22%, and stalking or spying activities 21%. In answering the question, "how important is privacy to your information sharing decision?," responses were: very important 19%, important 62%, not important 10%, and unsure 10%.
This study points out that protecting privacy not only is the right thing to do, but it also is good business.
The most privacy-protective companies in specific market segments, according to the survey:
- ISP: EarthLink
- Banking: Citibank
- Healthcare: Blue Cross/Blue Shield
- Consumer: Proctor & Gamble
- Entertainment: Disney
- Insurance: USAA
- Web business: eBay
- Package and delivery: US Postal Service
- Computer tech: Hewlett-Packard
- Conglomerate: General Electric
- Automobile and transportation: Harley Davidson
- Brokerage: Fidelity
- Telecom: Cingular
- Health and beauty: Weight Watchers
- Credit card: American Express
- Nonprofit: NRA
- Pharmaceutical: Pfizer
- Financial services: H&R Block
- Retail: Best Buy
- Media & communications: Direct TV
- Airlines: Air Alaska
- Food service: Trader Joes
- Toys: Mattel
- Hospitality: Hilton
Eric Sinrod is a partner in the San Francisco office of Duane Morris (www.duanemorris.com), where he focuses on litigation matters of various types, including information technology disputes. His column appears Wednesdays at USATODAY.com. His Web site is www.sinrodlaw.com, and he can be reached at ejsinrod@duanemorris.com. To receive a weekly e-mail link to Mr. Sinrod's columns, please send an e-mail with the word Subscribe in the Subject line to ejsinrod@duanemorris.com.
Reprinted here with permission from USAToday.com.