Government agencies in the US are allowed to bypass individuals' privacy settings on OSNs and access their information to evaluate potential employees under the provisions of the Patriot Act (Debatin, Lovejoy, Horn, & Hughes, 2009). This can hinder the use of the Internet, and OSNs, as a communication medium by reducing honesty and hindering people's online interactions. It is therefore necessary for banks to consider this factor before using OSN data in this way, even though it could give them a much-needed competitive advantage, because of the potential implications for their reputation and the trust of their customers.
As SET points out, this can lead to unacceptable costs for the relationship and lead the customer to consider alternative relationships with other banks.
Research Model and Hypotheses
- Individuals’ expectation that the data posted on OSNs will remain private will be influenced by their awareness of the privacy policies of the social
- Individuals will have an expectation of privacy regarding the data posted to OSNs, regardless of the privacy settings of those sites
- The greater the perceived control an individual has over their OSN privacy settings, the less the expectation of a potential privacy invasion
- Individuals’ trust of the bank of which they are a customer will influence their trust in that bank’s use of customers’ data on OSNs
- If a customer feels that a bank has betrayed their trust with the use of that customers’ data on OSNs then that feeling of betrayal will result in a
It is therefore reasonable to assume that an individual's knowledge of the privacy policies of the OSNs they engage with will influence their expectation of privacy. Levin & Abril (2009) introduce the concept of the "privacy contradiction" where users willingly disclose personal. information about OSNs, but still maintain an expectation of privacy. This implies that posting information on an OSN to be visible to a select group should not compromise an individual's expectation of the overall privacy of this information.
Thus, it is proposed that the greater the trust a customer has in his bank, the less he will expect his bank to make use of the customer's personal data on OSNs.
Philosophical approach
This highlights a potential bias in that the interpretation of the survey and interview data will be influenced by personal privacy expectations and experiences with OSNs. Interviews have been conducted with selected respondents who agreed to be interviewed as a follow-up to the survey. One customer from each of the major banks, apart from TSB, which was not represented in the survey responses, was selected as an interviewee.
The results of the interviews and subsequent content analysis were reviewed and compared with the results of the survey.
Analysis & Interpretation
Survey
Content Analysis
Web-based Survey
As illustrated in Figure 5 below, most respondents considered themselves aware of the privacy policies of the OSNs they attended. This raises the possibility that those respondents who believed they were aware of privacy policies may have constructed this awareness from other sources that may not necessarily be accurate. Of those surveyed who believed they were unaware of privacy policies, almost all had not read them, which could account for this lack of awareness.
Slightly more women than men had read the privacy policy, as illustrated in Figure 6. Less than two-thirds indicated they were aware of the OSNs' privacy policy, but the majority of these respondents had not actually read it. This indicates a high level of awareness of the sustainability of the information posted online, as put forward by Nissenbaum (1998).
The majority of respondents did not believe they had control over the privacy (53%) or use of their information (68%), while more male respondents had this perception, as illustrated in Figure 9. Due to increased privacy concerns, those women regarding their OSN data (Fogel & Nehmad, 2009), this may indicate that the female respondents have taken greater measures to ensure the privacy of their data. Less than half of respondents (47%) believe that their bank represents their interests.
Of the respondents who did not believe their bank was looking out for their best interests (33%), the largest subset of respondents was from ASB. Less than half of respondents believed that their primary bank was aware of the obligations surrounding their use of respondents' OSN data (45%) but more than a third of respondents were undecided (38%).
Interview
On the other hand, I've also thought that I expect my bank to proactively go out and find out if they're lending money to somebody, or me, or whoever, that they proactively go out and find out, it's a person who can be trusted because I don't want my bank lending a lot of money to someone who is not. How does your trust in your primary bank affect the fact that they can use your publicly available data from social networking sites to influence their lending decisions. However, the interviewees perceived that third parties might be able to access some information based on the terms and conditions of the OSNs.
Several interviewees indicated that this made them cautious about what they posted on websites, either "writing it in code" or simply not posting private information to these websites. Most of the interviewees were aware that the terms and conditions of OSNs could affect their expectations regarding the privacy of their data, but they were aware that by accepting the terms they could affect the privacy of their information. Many interviewees indicated that they felt that others might be less aware of these terms, suggesting that they expected other people to have a higher expectation of privacy than was justified.
Most of the interviewees indicated that they considered the information they put on OSNs that belonged to them to be "their information to share". One interviewee also raised a concern about the implications of privacy settings and what this would mean for data privacy on OSNs. For the one interviewee who indicated that they perceived their main bank as a benevolent entity, there was still recognition that the bank was a business and would ultimately seek to make money and make a profit.
Those interviewees who indicated that they do not experience their bank as a benevolent entity do not necessarily experience reduced trust in their primary bank due to that perception. One believed that it would provide no added value to them and the other believed that they would not use it because it is not accessible to them due to individuals' privacy settings.
Discussion
Respondents here can be seen to be drawing boundaries beyond what information they consider personal, and some clearly believe that these boundaries are supported by the privacy policies of OSN sites. Metzger (2007) suggests that this boundary turbulence is often evidenced by frequent changes in the sites' privacy policies, as has happened with Facebook (Opsahl, 2010), which illustrates that the implications of privacy policies are not fully understood by many OSNs. widow. users. Respondents' expectation of their data privacy (EDP) is measured by the following questions:
As shown in Figure 13, half of the respondents who had a high PC also had a high EPI. The fact that almost half of the respondents had a low computer indicates a continuing concern. If respondents believe that the bank's use of OSN data may cause them harm, it can be extrapolated that they will not trust the bank to use their OSN data due to the underlying concern that they may harm that customer.
Almost half of the respondents (42%) are considered to have a high PT and only 1% of the respondents are considered to have no PT in their primary bank. This was confirmed by several of the. interviewees who felt that using their OSN data in this way would make those respondents lose confidence in their bank. These expectations are crucial to the nature of the relationship and it is therefore assumed that this criterion is satisfied by default.
Of the group of respondents who indicated that PB could occur, a significant proportion (72%) believed that PPV would also occur. Based on the results of this study, more research is needed on what other factors influence respondents' perceptions of the use of their OSN data by third parties.
Conclusion
Survey Questions
I am aware of the privacy policies of the social networking site or sites I participate in. I have read the privacy policies of the social networking site or sites I participate in. I expect that the information posted on these websites will remain private to the websites themselves.
I believe that the data I place on social networking sites leaves a permanent trace of my actions on those sites. I believe that I have control over the privacy of my information posted on social networking sites. I believe that I have control over the use of my information posted on social networking sites may be used.
I believe that my primary bank is competent in the actions they take around loan decisions. I believe that my primary bank has integrity in the actions they take around loan decisions. I believe that my primary bank is aware of the obligations they have towards me regarding the use of my social network data.
I believe that my primary bank has an obligation to me not to use any information that I do not expressly provide to them. I believe that using my information from social networking sites as a basis for loan decisions could cause me harm.
Interview Questions
Question Data 1
Will you be prepared to participate in a follow-up interview based on the results of this interview. Would you be interested in receiving a copy of this survey when it is completed.
Unpacking the paradoxes of privacy in CMC relationships: The challenges of blogging and relational communication on the Internet. Facebook users in Argentina spend 9 hours per month on location, second only to Israel in user engagement. The democratization of online social networks: A look at the change in the demographics of social network users over time.
Trust production and privacy concerns on the Internet: A framework based on relationship marketing and social exchange theory.
