The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has launched an online consultation on a new draft code of practice to help organisations protect individuals' privacy online.
The draft code of practice explains data privacy law and calls on organisations to give people "the right degree" of control over their personal information.
The report suggests organisations give clear privacy choices to making it easier for people to erase their personal information at the end of a browsing session.
In a speech to delegates at the Personal information online conference in Manchester, Information Commissioner Christopher Graham said: "Customers can always vote with their feet and punish organisations that they feel have let them down - which serves as a very real reminder that getting privacy online wrong is a risky game to play. People should have control over what happens to their personal information online whether it's correcting inaccuracies, deleting profiles or choosing the privacy settings that suit them."
The draft code of practice includes guidance on when to collect information and when not to, cloud computing and improving individuals access to data held on them.
Iain Bourne, Head of Data Protection Projects at the ICO, said: "Collecting information about people in the proper way, including making them fully aware of what will happen to their personal information and how they can access it and keep it accurate, lies at the heart of good privacy protection.
"The draft code of practice explains a difficult area of the law and provides practical advice on a range of online privacy issues. It urges organisations to do more to explain what they do with the information they collect about people and to make sure they use it in line with individuals' wishes."
The consultation ends on 5 March 2010. A link to the online consultation can be found at http://www.ico.gov.uk/
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