Protecting privacy is not a new endeavor for Western Iowa Networks. WIN has a long-standing tradition of recognizing and protecting the privacy of customers who use its telecommunications services. The company maintains strict customer information privacy policies and uses state of the art technologies to safeguard customer information and communications from unauthorized intrusions.

WIN recognizes that the growth of Internet services has created additional privacy concerns, particularly for consumers. Online privacy concerns focus primarily on the protection of “customer identifiable” information which an individual or other customer reasonably expects to be kept private. As the term suggests, “customer identifiable” information is information that, when associated with an individual identifies that individual, for example, a customer’s name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address.

Some Internet users may also wish to know who can learn about what they do on the Internet, even when that online behavior is not directly linked to any information that identifies an individual. For example, advertisers may observe whether visitors to a web site see or respond to online advertising without knowing who those visitors are.

It is common practice and often a necessity for companies, governments, or other organizations to collect customer identifiable information in order to conduct business and offer services. For example, a telecommunications provider may collect customer identifiable information, such as name, address, telephone number, and a variety of other information in the course of billing and providing telephone service to a customer.

Some activities on the Internet follow very familiar patterns. Consumers signing up for an Internet access service, for example, are usually asked to provide name, address, telephone number and credit card and other information that is typical when the consumer orders a product or service. Similarly, business web sites may ask visitors to supply information about themselves, particularly when information, services or merchandise are requested, but often simply to be able to better target the company’s services to the customer’s interests and requirements.