Despite the risks, many organizations don't thoroughly vet their privacy notices and consent requirements, which is how they often wind up being non-compliant and ultimately run into trouble.
Executives at Facebook say they have been unsuccessful in efforts to meet with a U.S. senator who has been publicly pushing the social networking site to revise its privacy policy.
Some Google observers are concerned that a new privacy policy announced by the Web search giant may contain holes that could make it possible to connect search logs to the names of users, potentially defeating the purpose of Google's plan to make records about user searches anonymous after 18 to 24 months.
Even as the ranks of online shoppers swell, persistent concerns about security and privacy are still making many consumers shy about spending their money online this holiday season.