Privacy regime, culture and user practices in the cyber‐marketplace

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the congruence between policy supply and demand in Internet privacy as moderated by culture.

Design/methodology/approach

This study consists of the two parts. The first part qualitatively examines policy harmonization efforts among Asian‐Pacific nations. The second part, based on survey findings, quantitatively analyzes differences between the US and Korean college students in regulatory attitudes toward information privacy. The aim, drawing on regime theory as a departure, is to measure the policy genesis and its effectiveness in operation.

Findings

The findings are two‐fold. First, contrary to the expectations, the notions of online privacy rights among the Korean respondents are strongly formed, with the regulatory demands widely shared with the US participants. Second, however, there exists a gap between the beliefs of information privacy rights and daily practices – the duality far more magnified among the Korean respondents.

Practical implications

The results suggest the incongruence of the consensus between the two levels – of policymakers and of online users of different cultures.

Originality/value

While most studies focus on internet policy genesis alone, this paper measures the policy effectiveness in its consumption to capture the operation of cultural values in everyday practices. Policy implications and alternatives for developing nations are discussed in the specific context of Asian‐Pacific nations.

Citation

Jin Park, Y. (2008), "Privacy regime, culture and user practices in the cyber‐marketplace", info, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 57-74. https://doi.org/10.1108/14636690810862811