OECD Privacy Statement Generator

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Internet research has repeatedly shown that many consumers are reluctant to engage in electronic transactions because of concerns about the privacy of their personal data. Privacy policies and accurate public statements outlining such policies are a vital step towards encouraging openness and trust in electronic commerce among visitors to Web sites. They can help visitors to make informed choices about entrusting an organisation with personal data and doing business with it.

The OECD Privacy Guidelines represent an international consensus on how best to balance effective privacy protection with the free flow of personal data. Openness is a key principle of the Privacy Guidelines, which are flexible and allow for various means of compliance.

To help implement the Privacy Guidelines in the electronic world, the OECD has developed the OECD Privacy Policy Statement Generator in co-operation with industry, privacy experts and consumer organisations. The Generator, which has been endorsed by the OECD’s 30 member countries, aims to offer guidance on compliance with the Privacy Guidelines and to help organisations develop privacy policies and statements for display on their Web sites.

It is hoped that by making the Generator freely available online, it will help:

• Foster awareness of privacy issues among Web site owners.
• Increase awareness among visitors about privacy practices on the Web sites which they browse.
• Encourage user and consumer trust in global networks and electronic commerce.
  

Use of the OECD Generator does not, however, necessarily imply that a Web site complies with the OECD Privacy Guidelines.

The Generator is first and foremost an educational tool.
It provides guidance on conducting an internal review of existing personal data practices and on developing a privacy policy statement. It gives links to private sector organisations with expertise in developing a privacy policy. It offers links to governmental agencies, non-governmental organisations and private bodies that give information on applicable regulations.

The Generator makes use of a questionnaire to learn about your personal data practices. A Help section provides explanatory notes and practical guidance. Warning flags appear where appropriate. Your answers are then fed into a pre-formatted draft policy statement. You must assess this statement: is it an accurate reflection of your personal data practices and policy?

Note that the OECD does not guarantee that such a draft privacy policy statement meets applicable legal or self-regulatory requirements. The statement merely reflects the answers given to the Generator’s questions. However, the draft statement will furnish an indication of the extent to which your privacy practices are consistent with the OECD Privacy Guidelines.

The Generator is freely available to all private and public organisations on the OECD Web site and via links in member and other countries. If you find the Generator on the Web site of a government agency or that of a similar body, it may contain an extra section designed to help comply with that country’s specific national requirements.

The OECD has developed the OECD Generator as a tool to provide users with useful input in the development of a privacy policy and statement.

Users are expected to deal fairly and in good faith with the Generator and the substance of the statements which it produces.

Use of the Generator does not, and should not, imply any seal of approval or endorsement by the OECD of the privacy policy and statement developed by users. Users may however, indicate that they have used the OECD Generator as part of the process of developing their privacy policy and statement, and if they do so, should provide a link to www.oecd.org/sti/privacygenerator.

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