Privacy Policies Matter. No, Really. They Do.

Forces as dissimilar as the Federal Trade Commission and Google seem to be aligning to reinforce the importance of protecting the privacy of your company's online customers.Not long ago, I wrote a column asking Is A Good Privacy Policy Also Good Business?. The column was based on the ACLU's Dot Rights campaign, but today a couple things came together to raise the issue once again.

First, Adotas reports that Google may be requiring AdSense users to review and update their privacy policies or be banned from using the service.

Meanwhile, according to Reuters, the FTC has warned big phone and Internet companies like AT&T and Google that they are fast approaching their last chance to self-regulate how they deal with consumers' behavioural information.

Reuters quotes FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz saying: "From my perspective, the industry is pretty close to its last clear chance to demonstrate" that it can police itself. If they don't, it's likely that the FTC, under the Obama administration, will step in regulate consumer privacy for them.

So, for companies big and small, it seems that privacy really does pay.

Don't Miss: Is A Good Privacy Policy Also Good Business?