Tech companies offer you the chance to buy back your privacy
Security is a profitable industry, with companies constantly promoting their latest privacy and security offerings through various mediums such as billboards, internet ads, and commercials. For instance, Apple’s “Privacy. That’s iPhone” campaign, DuckDuckGo’s emphasis on privacy as a distinguishing feature, and targeted Google cybersecurity ads on social media are all examples of this trend. While this increased focus on privacy is beneficial for consumer awareness, it also introduces new terminology and complicates the process of making purchasing decisions.
This resurgence of privacy-focused ads has a lot to do with the popularity of data laws. This is not to say that advertising privacy is new, it goes all the way back to these companies, but regulation made compliance a selling point. The General Data Protection Regulation, the California Consumer Protection Act, and many other local laws that emerged forced companies to prioritize data protection while consumers also honed in on it.
Whitney Parker Mitchell, CEO and founder of Beacon Digital Marketing, told ReturnByte that behind the scenes, as regulations roll out, compliance officers will be hired for purchasing decisions and privacy and security will take on a new focus. From there, companies make a decision whether or not to advertise privacy and security compliance based on the target buyer.
“Where you emphasize this and how much information you present in your marketing materials really depends on how important it is to the primary buyer,” Mitchell said. Like a cell phone that feels very personal, security might come to mind, but you might value convenience more than anything else in a product like a robot vacuum cleaner.
Still, privacy and security are dense and complex, making concepts less than ideal for pithy slogans. Often when marketers try to narrow it down to something catchy, an important nuance is lost or buzzwords obscure the reality. “Ad campaigns can make the problem seem simpler or too simple than it really is,” said Aaron Massey, lead policy analyst for ad technologies and platforms at the Future of Privacy Forum.
It’s similar to the market for lemons – used cars, not fruit – Massey told ReturnByte. It’s easy to make a marketing claim, but it’s very difficult for a buyer to confirm that it’s true because they don’t have the special skills to confirm it.
So, along with advertising campaigns, more consumer-friendly privacy awareness is coming to our devices. “Companies are realizing that privacy policies are not enough to help consumers understand what’s really going on with their data,” said Cobun Zweifel-Keegan, DC CEO of the International Association of Privacy Professionals. This includes, for example, privacy checks that direct you to update your settings with a pop-up window when logging in.
It has been positive in terms of privacy and security. More regulation and consumer education has ultimately driven these ads. Still, there are things you should pay attention to before taking them at face value. While not every ad can be a comprehensive and detailed approach to a topic, subjective claims such as “We are the safest” should arouse skepticism. “It’s best to look for claims that the company can clearly stand behind,” Zweifel-Keegan told ReturnByte, and high-level staff, such as privacy or security officers, to back it up.
