Pew survey
I found an interesting Pew/Internet survey that I thought was worth mentioning. According to the survey, people are concerned about their privacy online. Although most respondents did not know what cookies are, 24% of those who did configured their browsers not to accept them, even though doing so can make it impossible to use websites that require users to sign in.
45% of the people surveyed had never voluntarliy given their name or other personal information in order to use a website, and 61% of those people would not be willing to do so. 24% of the respondents had created fake personal information when asked to register at a site.
When asked how they felt about websites tracking the pages they visit, 27% of respondents said it would be “helpful, because the company can provide you with information that matches your interests,” while 54% said it would be “harmful, because it invades your privacy.” 63% thought that websites should not be allowed to track their visitors’ activities, and 79% said that Internet companies should ask for permission before using personal information. Finally 62% of the respondents thought that web users should have the most say over how Internet companies track people’s online activities and use personal information, while only 6% thought companies should have the most say.