The authors examine online privacy and security issues in a study of 102 church Web sites throughout the nation and find that though church Web sites collect personal identifying information comparable to that collected by commercial Web sites, few offer information practice statements or privacy policies. Furthermore, unlike their commercial counterparts, church Web sites often post personal identifying information of their members and site visitors that enhances potential threats to both consumer privacy and security. Survey responses from 21 church Web site administrators provide further insight into this information disclosure gap and potential means of addressing it.
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