Consumer Privacy and Transparency in the Digital Age: An argument for the continuation of Self-Regulation by the U.S. Marketing Industry

Abstract

Never has privacy been more debated than in today’s digital age. The advent of the internet and proliferation of devices such as smartphones have enabled the instantaneous sharing, compiling and use of data for a multitude of purposes. As consumers’ shopping habits increasingly shift to the online space to buy goods, businesses are also shifting to new technologies to better understand and track consumers’ wants and needs. At this crucial time, we must adapt our privacy safeguards and policies to the new technologies and reality of our times. But the question is “how?”