A group based in London which calls itself Privacy International has taken unto itself the job of rating how well major websites protect the privacy of their users.
For starters, the sample is quite odd. It includes major internet properties like Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO), and AOL. But, also mixed in are sites like Reunion.com and Bebo. The list is also a mix of e-commerce sites including Amazon (AMZN), search sites, and online news.
The ranking takes into account items such as whether a company has a department which handles privacy compliance, whether information is collected with or without the users consent, and whether firms invest in privacy measures like data encrytption.
The survey does not highlight whether any of the companies mentioned break privacy laws or hand the data out to entities that should not have it. That would seem to be important, by maybe it misses the point.
It is not surprising that large companies that own huge websites take the brunt of the criticism here. Google makes the list of prime offenders. So do AOL, Apple (AAPL), Yahoo!, and Windows Live.
The really good guys on the list include Wikipedia and BBC, both non-profits.
Privacy International is also a non-profit, but that may simply be a coincidence. The list does present a strong match between the companies that it rates as great offenders and firms that do well financially. But, perhaps that is being too cynical.
Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at [email protected]. He does not own securities in companies that he writes about.
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