ARTS & FARCES internet

Americans, no matter how much carpetbagging corporations don’t want to hear it, care about their personal privacy. Surprisingly, they do little to protect it. In fact, Americans are willing to give most websites information they claim they want to keep private.

America is nothing if not a cauldron of contradictions.

But these contradictions are likely a result of most Internet users not understanding the mechanics of how, exactly, the Internet works. While we want control over our personal information, we don’t know enough about how the technology works to assert that control.

86% of those responding to a recent Pew Internet and American Life Project survey claim to be “somewhat concerned” or “very concerned” about misuse of their personal information on the Internet. Yet only 10% of all Internet users configure their browsers to reject cookies, only 56% even know what cookies are, and only 5% use software that allows them to surf anonymously. Put another way, 90% of Internet users gladly hand over information related to taste in music and books, political affiliation, and the state of their health to strangers on a daily basis. They might as well be walking around with a neon “kick me” sign on their butts.

Online marketers intent on harvesting personal information would be well advised to take careful note of the study respondents’ suggestions for privacy violation penalties. 94% want some kind of punishment: 30% said the website should be publicly black-listed; 27% said company owners should be fined; and 11% said the person responsible should go to jail. The study was funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

The raft of online privacy oopsies continues unabated:

• In June, the U.S. government drug czar’s office was found to be using cookies on its website to track the behavior of those accessing drug information. Cookie tracking was found to be used on other federal websites and was subsequently banned.
• In July, toysmart.com decided it would make a last ditch attempt at profitability by auctioning its customer database to the highest bidder. Never mind that the company’s privacy policy included a pledge to never disclose personal information. The FTC stepped in and put the kibosh on toysmart.com’s modified business plan.
• Later in July, the FBI came under fire for its plan to use its Carnivore software to wiretap suspects’ email. The problem is that in order for Carnivore to work, it must sift through all of the email moving across the suspects’ service provider. Congressional hearings were held and the project remains under scrutiny.
• In August, the tainted Internet privacy organization, TRUSTe, acknowledged it had allowed a third-party to track visitors to the TRUSTe website, without the users’ permission or knowledge. The third-party used not only cookies to track user behavior but also web bugs.
• Earlier this month, amazon.com announced it had changed its privacy policy. After having harvested the reading habits of its customers under a promise of keeping that information private, the company decided there was value in that information and that, as a business asset, it could (and would) be used for virtually any purpose, including outright sale. Within two weeks, several amazon.com affiliates—including epic.org—announced they were terminating their relationships with the Internet retailer.

Businesses claim they track user behavior only to better serve their customers by presenting personalized advertising and content. But the customers aren’t buying that claim. According to the Pew study, only 27% of respondents agree that such tracking is helpful. Fully 54% said the tracking was harmful, and 11% said it both helps and hurts.

Nevertheless 54% of surveyed Internet users have given up personal information such as their email address and another 10% are willing to do so. Only 27% said they would never give up their personal information to a website.

That same 86% think that businesses should be required to obtain permission before collecting personal information. And that—the “opt-in” requirement—is the crux of the issue. According to the Pew study, “almost 90% of Internet users who shop online are being tracked by cookies and many are unaware that is happening.”