Privacy Issues in the Era of Ubiquitous Commerce
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RESEARCH Abstract Privacy Issues in the Era of Ubiquitous The vision of ubiquitous commerce (u- commerce) is realized through the conver- Commerce gence of electronic, mobile, television, voice and silent commerce applications. The HOLTJONA GALANXHI AND FIONA FUI-HOON NAH ubiquity, universality, uniqueness and uni- son of u-commerce will provide two principal benefits for individual users and businesses: increased convenience as well as more personalized and customized ser- vices. However, u-commerce will also bring emerging issues such as a greater degree of privacy concerns that will impact individual users, companies and society at large. This paper proposes and elaborates on a con- ceptual framework for privacy in the u- commerce era. This framework is developed based on Lessig’s macro-level perspective and Adams’ micro-level perspective. Using INTRODUCTION relevant to u-commerce are this framework, privacy issues related to u- described. Lastly, an integrative fra- commerce are discussed and future research Ubiquitous commerce, also referred mework is presented. Based on the directions are presented. to as ‘u-commerce’, ‘ultimate com- framework, suggestions and guide- Keywords: ubiquitous commerce, u- merce’ or ‘u¨ber-commerce’, extends lines for research and practice are commerce, privacy, integrative framework traditional commerce to a world of provided. ubiquitous networks and universal devices (Junglas and Watson 2003). It is a new paradigm that broadens U-COMMERCE CHARACTERISTICS, and extends the Internet era and has ISSUES AND CHALLENGES the potential to create a completely new environment in business U-commerce refers to ‘the use of (Galanxhi-Janaqi and Nah 2004). ubiquitous networks to support per- U-commerce enables a continuous, sonalized and uninterrupted com- seamless stream of communication, munications and transactions content and service exchanges between a firm and its various among businesses, suppliers, stakeholders to provide a level of Downloaded By: [Schmelich, Volker] At: 11:37 24 March 2010 employees, customers and products value over, above, and beyond tradi- (Watson et al. 2002). Through the tional commerce’ (Watson et al. convergence of physical and digital 2002). U-commerce involves five means, higher levels of convenience components, viz: electronic (e-com- Authors and value are created at the expense merce), wireless/mobile (m-com- of increased privacy concerns (i.e., merce), television (t-commerce), Holtjona Galanxhi personal information is captured, voice (v-commerce), and silent com- ([email protected]) is a forth year doctoral student of MIS at the transmitted and distributed to pro- merce (s-commerce), and its full University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her vide u-commerce services). realization is greater than the simple research interests include ubiquitous and The objectives of this paper are sum of its components. This section mobile e-commerce, silent commerce, two-fold: (1) to integrate existing discusses the characteristics of u- privacy issues, HCI, and the strategic 2006 Electronic Markets literature related to privacy in u- commerce and identifies issues and role of IS in organizations. ß commerce; and (2) to provide a challenges in u-commerce. Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah framework for explaining and under- Watson et al. (2002) present four ([email protected]) is an Associate Professor of MIS at the University of standing privacy issues in u-com- characteristics of u-commerce: ubi- Copyright Volume 16 (3): 222-232. www.electronicmarkets.org DOI: 10.1080/10196780600841894 merce. First, the concept of u- quity, universality, uniqueness and Nebraska-Lincoln. She has published widely. Her research interests include commerce, its characteristics, and unison. The first characteristic is ubiquitous and mobile e-commerce, emerging challenges of u-commerce ubiquity. Computers will be every- HCI, computer-supported collaborative applications are discussed. Second, where and every device will be work, and theory building in two models of privacy that are connected to the Internet. The information systems research. Electronic Markets Vol. 16 No 3 223 omnipresence of computer chips will make them space and time (i.e., continuous monitoring of con- ‘invisible’, as people will no longer notice them sumption, frequent commercial communications, and (Watson et al. 2002). Universality is the second data mining for personalization). U-commerce inherits characteristic of u-commerce. Universality eliminates the privacy, trust and security concerns of e-commerce, the problems of incompatibility caused by the lack of m-commerce and other forms of digital commerce standardization such as the use of mobile phones in (Galanxhi-Janaqi and Nah 2004). Furthermore, new different networks. A universal device will make it social issues arise as these u-commerce applications must possible to stay connected at any time and any place. mesh well with natural social behaviours or they will Another characteristic of u-commerce is uniqueness. either fail or lead to unforeseen outcomes (Grudin Uniqueness means that the information provided to 2002). For example, in location-based services, busi- users can be customized to their context and needs at nesses can use the physical location data of customers to specific time and place. The last characteristic of u- provide solicited or unsolicited information about commerce is unison, which aggregates the aspects of shopping and entertainment information in their vicinity application and data into one construct. Unison means (Junglas and Spitzmu¨ller 2005). Similarly, employers that data is integrated and is uniform across multiple can track the movement of their employees and know applications, and users have a consistent view of the their whereabouts at any time and any place, thus raising information regardless of the device used (Junglas and privacy concerns. Watson 2003). In the u-commerce environment, it is Organizations that address individuals’ privacy con- possible to integrate various communication systems cerns arising from u-commerce applications will be one such that there is a single interface or connection point step ahead of their competitors. Society, businesses and to these systems. individuals can benefit from u-commerce if privacy issues Schapp and Cornelius (2001) identify three global are properly handled. The following section reviews the phenomena that accelerate the growth of u-commerce: privacy literature, discusses two models of privacy pervasiveness of technology (the explosive growth of relevant to u-commerce and integrates these two nanotechnology and the continuing capital invest- perspectives into a single framework. ments); growth of wireless networks (one of the fastest growing distributed bases); and increasing bandwidth and connectivity (bandwidth has been doubling every FRAMEWORK FOR PRIVACY IN U-COMMERCE nine months, and the high-speed networks of the 3G generation will provide added capacity and enhanced One of the major concerns related to u-commerce, and functionality). the IT evolution in general, is privacy. Laudon and U-commerce applications offer many benefits, but Traver (2001: 467) define privacy as ‘the moral right of they also face challenges and raise new questions individuals to be left alone, free from surveillance or (Galanxhi-Janaqi and Nah 2004). The higher value of interference from other individuals or organizations, u-commerce is derived from the synergy created by its including the state’. components. It is ironic how the same information Lessig (1999) distinguishes between several motives practices that provide value to organizations and for the protection of privacy: Downloaded By: [Schmelich, Volker] At: 11:37 24 March 2010 individuals also raise privacy concerns (Bloom et al. 1994). Mobile commerce faces the same problems N Privacy as empowerment: This motive refers to the troubling e-commerce, plus a few of its own (Siau informational view of privacy. In this perspective, the and Shen, 2003a, 2003b; Siau et al. 2003, 2004). goal is to give people the power to control the These concerns are even greater for u-commerce distribution of information about themselves applications. For example, according to CNN news (Langheinrich et al. 2005). reports in February 2005, u-commerce applications N Privacy as utility: This motive has to do with ‘the involving the use of Radio Frequency Identification right to be left alone’ (Warren and Brandeis 1980); its (RFID) tags have been implemented in some elemen- objective is to minimize intrusion. tary schools to bring benefits such as greater security for N Privacy as dignity: The dignity motive refers to children in their school compound; however, these being free from unsubstantiated suspicion and it applications have been strongly objected by some also focuses on the equilibrium of information parents of these children because they raise privacy available between two people (Langheinrich et al. concerns. 2005). Roussos and Moussouri (2004) investigate consumer N Privacy as a regulating agent: This motive relates to perceptions on a retail u-commerce application called the privacy laws and moral norms, which can be seen the MyGrocer project. Their study showed that as a tool to regulate and control information although the proposition of MyGrocer attracted sub- collection and use. This concept sees privacy as a stantial interest among consumers, the most controver- way to limit the power of the state to regulate (Lessig sial aspect of the system was the intrusion of private