The (first) dilemma: both privacy and publicity
Privacy, the Public, and Commerce: Findings from the Pew Internet Project
University of Illinois at Chicago
The vast majority of American Internet users want privacy. They think it is an invasion of their privacy for businesses, for instance, to monitor users' Web browsing. Although by a two-to-one margin they reject the argument made by some firms that Web tracking can be helpful, users are willing to share personal information under certain circumstances.Ý
In order to protect their privacy, a relatively small number of savvy users are devising their own "opt-in" policies and deciding that some Web sites are not worthy of getting their personal information. But most users do not use available privacy-protection tools, perhaps because they are unaware of how Web sites work and how existing technologies can be deployed to protect them.Ý
Instead, they prefer to punish firms and their executives when they violate users' privacy.Ý Privacy concerns among newer Internet users are driven in part by their fears about the technology, rather than first-hand experience with fraud or other online invasions.Ý
In general Americans continue to trust email, surf the Web for advice about intimate aspects of their lives, make friends online, and turn to Web sites for health information, for spending their money, and for material about their finances.