There are a number of barriers to trust in the online environment. These barriers include
perceived risk, website design and content, the user themselves and privacy concerns.
Privacy concerns are considered the greatest barrier of them all because ‘the internet, by
design, lacks unified provisions for identifying who communicates with whom; it lacks
a well-designed identity infrastructure’ (Leenes et al., 2008: 1). Privacy concerns include
online information collection techniques such as cookie technology involving extreme
surveillance. The use and analysis of data is also a concern due to unethical merging
and data mining practices to profile customers (Tavani, 2011). The instant recording and
permanence of activity, loss of control and ownership of data also create barriers to online
activity (Tavani, 2011). Overcoming privacy concerns online is crucial in order for trust
to develop, which in turn prompts online activity including purchases, repeat purchases
and positive word-of-mouth (Liu et al., 2005). Van Dyke et al. (2007) and Metzger (2004)
recognise high privacy concerns can affect trust levels online and in turn constrain an individual’s
willingness to transact or interact online. Liu et al. (2005) present a privacy–trust
behavioural intention model which depicts the importance of providing online users with
control (notice, access, choice and security) over their personal information to overcome
privacy concerns and enable trust to develop. Sheehan and Hoy (2000) re-emphasise the
importance of control to the concept of privacy by also highlighting a number of control
factors likely to influence an individual’s level of privacy concern. These factors include
awareness of information being collected, information usage, information sensitivity and
familiarity with the entity collecting the information.