Personal information privacy: implications for MIS managers

Recent media attention to information privacy issues has shown that citizens are increasingly concerned about information privacy and their right to it. Governmental and other organizations have been collecting data about individuals at an increasing and. to many, alarming rate. The ability to gather so much information on individuals is largely because of advances in information technology (IT). It is important for IS managers and professionals to understand the issues surrounding personal information privacy in order to protect the rights of those from and about whom they collect data. A model is presented to provide managers guidance in dealing with privacy policy. Taking a proactive stance against privacy invasion could help stave off government intervention in passing legislation to create tighter controls over what can be done with an individual's personal data. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.