Email is a core communication tool for consumers and, of
course, the companies that want to influence and interact with them. However,
privacy protection of email messages among consumers, between companies and
customers, and basically all other communication enabled by ESPs, remains a
pressing topic. That's especially true with the recent reintroduction of
the Email Privacy Act to Congress by Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-KS), the
bill's lead sponsor.
At issue: Government or civil attorneys can issue subpoenas
to force email service providers, such as Google or Yahoo, to turn over users'
email messages—and all electronic communication, such as Facebook posts—that
are more than six months old. If eventually enacted, the new legislation would
set a standard that's much higher for the government to obtain these
messages—requiring warrants to do so. Warrants are harder to get simply because
they're issued only by magistrates or judges.
The recent move has ignited a spirited discussion on how
such a law would affect email users, ESPs, and the relationship between the
two. “Privacy is an issue that's taken seriously all across the board,” says
Bob Sybydlo, director of intelligence products at Yesmail. “Customers are
becoming more and more conscious of the information they're sharing with
brands, and it's important that email service providers recognize this when
helping clients develop personalized, targeted marketing campaigns.”
Companies can use user preferences and actions to target and
personalize. But to protect customers' privacy, Sybydlo says, marketers must
understand that emails are content tailored to specific users—not private
messages—and he warns that personal information, other than a first name,
shouldn't be included in an electronic message. “Personal communication,
transactional messages, credit card receipts, etcetera, however, usually do
contain private and personal information, and that is the data that does need
protection.” Bottom line, he says, marketers need to treat all electronic
communication with a high level of protection and sensitivity.
Linking legislation with modern-day technology
With the preceding passage of the Electronic Communications
Privacy Act of 1986—and the update of this reform in the mid-1990s—the
guidelines and rules remain dated and disconnected with modern needs and
problems, some industry insiders say.
“What we're really lacking is the common sense to build laws
that aren't predicated on a technology at a given point in time,” says Len
Shneyder, VP of industry relations at SparkPost. “But rather focus on our
right to privacy, regardless of sector or business vertical, as a basic right
that our law and government should protect.”
So a looming question remains: Are there times when the
government should be able to obtain users' private email messages? “The
government should only have power over email communication if it's in a
citizen's best interest,” Sybydlo says. “People deserve privacy—and should have
a right to it—but certain measures must be available to the appropriate
authorities in times of a threat or suspected criminal activity.”
Shneyder agrees. “I'm sure there are instances when the
greater good might be better served if privacy were circumvented,” he says.
“But because all governments—at some point or another—overstep their
boundaries, email should always fall under a privacy umbrella or Fourth
Amendment protections. Having judicial review as a core piece of deciding when
the government can view your personal communications regardless of form should
be a core principal of our digital society.”
What constitutes a viable reason to coerce ESPs to hand over
private messages remains questionable for many. “It's hard to draw the line
between what's a threat and what's legitimate,” Sybydlo says. “People are
entitled to their privacy, but we all know that whatever we do online is
watched. In the event of a major emergency, people are more likely to share
more information than in a time of normalcy.”
Ultimately, it's the users, Sybydlo says, who are at the
center of the issue and who should be protected by law. “I think that if the
government is in need of personal email addresses, they have to make it a point
to explain why,” he says. “With so many cyber-security threats and privacy
concerns out there—especially with the technological capabilities we have
today—consumers need to be assured that their online information, whether in
email or through other channels, is in safe hands.”
Some simple steps to do include describing how and why a
business collects users' information, clarifying opt-out policies, getting
seals of approvals through services such as trust-mark sales company TRUSTe,
and immediately letting consumers know when a company has made changes to
policies. All of these steps assure users that marketers and ESPs are making moves
to protect the privacy of all electronic communication.
Article From: www.dmnews.com
