• SRIW unveils a consumer-friendly business sector template at the IT Summit
• At the Summit, the political sphere, business community and academia discuss the process of shaping the digital future
19 November 2015 – Internet privacy policy statements ought to be easier to understand in future – an aim supported by a template for simpler and more consumer-friendly privacy policy statements presented today at the 9th National IT Summit in Berlin. “This template enables businesses to design privacy policy statements which are easier to understand. In this way, businesses can strengthen the consumers’ trust in their digital services,” said Harald Lemke, Chief Executive Officer of the non-profit association SRIW (Selbstregulierung Informationswirtschaft e.V.). As part of the IT Summit’s “Consumer Policies in the Digital Society” platform, SRIW played a significant role in drafting the template.
According to a study by Bitkom, Germany’s digital association, nine out of ten (90%) internet users presently regard the privacy policy statements by online service providers as hard or impossible to understand. Consequently, eight out of ten users (79%) agreed to privacy policy statements even though they had not properly understood them. Against this background, the members of the “Consumer Policies in the Digital Society” platform under Ulrich Kelber, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection, and Martina Koederitz, General Manager of IBM Germany, are urging all businesses to adopt the new, simplified privacy policy statement.
The 9th National IT Summit was held under the motto “Shaping the Digital Future”. Over one thousand high-ranking representatives from the political sphere, business community and academia attended the Summit today to discuss the process of shaping the digital transformation in Germany.
Businesses interested in implementing these ideas were asked to contact SRIW. The Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV) announced that where these ideas are successfully implemented, the IT Summit’s logo can also be used.
The template for a simpler and more consumer-friendly privacy policy statement can be downloaded here: Template & Background details
For more on the IT Summit: www.it-gipfel.de
