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Sloppy e-privacy policies abound in Asia

Charles Huang, Netbig.com CEO
For Netbig.com CEO Charles Huang, personal data is often too easy to obtain  

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Slipshod privacy policies are aplenty in Asia, as Web sites like China's Netbig.com continue to mine, manipulate and market their customer data.

Netbig.com, China's leading education site, solicits very personal information from its customers -- information that is often outside the boundaries of what's required to run its e-tutoring services.

Though digital privacy is a value that has been slow coming to Asia, it is gaining momentum as more Net users step up demands for control of their data.

Too easy to obtain

"We know all the personal information in terms of age, sex, where they live, telephone numbers, address, and basically quite detailed personal information for all students that register on our Web site," says Netbig.com CEO Charles Huang.

Netbig.com boats a database of over 1 million registered users. To offer its suite of education products, the Web site asks for the personal details of its users as they register on the site - details that are often too easy to obtain.

"Most people in China don't think twice when they give you their social security, ID number, their birthdates," says Huang.

But according to IDC, nearly 25% of Asia's Internet surfers say that they are very concerned about their online privacy. More than ever, they want to know what Web sites are collecting their personal data, and for what purpose.

"We have to know which school they are with, what they are interested in studying, what is their age group, and where do they live, how can we reach them when we need to call them," says Huang.

"If you provide a service to the customer you really need that much information to provide a good service for them."

But critics ask whether sites like Netbig.com truly do require, for example, the home phone numbers of an 8 year old students to access its online study guides.

Enforcing privacy policy

Charles Huang told CNN.com that there is no authority that enforces his company's privacy policy.

"No guidelines, no regulations. You do this to make your users feel more comfortable."

Actually, privacy laws do exist and they vary from country to country.

Targeting local sites like Netbig.com, Hong Kong's Personal Data Privacy Ordinance has been protecting the privacy of Internet users since 1996.

"You must circumscribe what you are asking," says privacy consultant Virginia La Torre Jeker.

"If you are just selling a service, do you really need a Hong Kong ID card? You best be advised that you are not collecting more data than you should be."

Privacy consultants have their work cut out for them. A Hong Kong government audit of local Web sites found that 70% of all sites failed to ensure digital privacy.

"Most sites have a pretty abominable record of data protection and that's because like most Internet companies they are out to make the fast buck," says Dotlove CEO Leslie Kenny.

Dotlove, an online matchmaker, is conscientious about upholding its customers' privacy rights. Kenny believes that Asia's increasingly savvy surfers will reward those companies who keep faith with their customers.

"We understand that value of it. In a few years, or a few months, I am sure those customers will also understand the value." says Kenny.

"If we haven't taken upon ourselves to educate the customer the value of their information, we do a disservice to ourselves."



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