PRIVACY IN THE ONLINE WORLD.

• Position: Brief Article

Americans are in love with the Internet.

Three-quarters of Americans under the age of 60 have used the Internet at work or at home, and 72 percent say the Internet has made their lives better. Meanwhile, Americans spent an estimated $15 billion to $20 billion last year shopping online.

At the same time, Americans are becoming increasingly concerned that their privacy is at risk on the Internet. According to a Forrester Research survey of online users, 67 percent said they were "extremely" or "very" concerned about releasing personal information over the Web. Forrester estimates that those fears may have resulted in as much as $2.8 billion in lost sales for Internet retailers in 1999.

Over the last year, the ability of Web sites to collect, combine, analyze and disseminate data has hit the radar screens of the public, government officials, the technology industry and the media in a huge way. Recently, considerable attention has been focused on the privacy practices and policies of many well-known companies, including Microsoft. In Washington, D.C., and in state legislatures, numerous proposals have been introduced to study the range of issues involved in the privacy discussion, or to regulate information practices.

As a New York Times editorial recently noted: "Unless businesses can protect privacy, the erosion of trust could seriously harm e-commerce as well as cause the public to become wary about using the Internet for education, research and other important noncommercial functions."

If that were to occur, it would be a shame, not only for consumers, but also for the high-technology industry.

As Microsoft continues to monitor and improve our own Web practices and policies, we are also committed to developing technologies and tools that will help lead the way in placing power and choice in the hands of consumers regarding the collection and use of their personal information. We are working with government leaders, industry, and nonprofit organizations like getnetwise.org, TRUSTe and BBBOnline to find the best solutions for addressing the public's legitimate concerns. A key component is educating online users and helping them take advantage of current privacy tools and new ones as they are developed.

Microsoft believes that everyone has a right to know how their personal information and their Internet activity is used by the Web sites they visit. This commitment is built within a framework known as Fair Information Practices, which forms...