'Consumer Reports': Online Privacy Worries Public
- April 5, 2012
A new Consumer Reports survey finds that 71% of respondents are very concerned about online companies selling or sharing information about them without their permission. More than half said they were also very concerned about advertisers targeting kids with personalized ads based on data collected while they browse the Web.
Beyond that, people were worried about companies holding on to user data, even when they don't need it anymore, and collecting data about their online activities and purchases being used to deny employment or affect their ability to get a loan.
When it comes to smartphone owners, 65% were very concerned that apps could access their contacts, photos, location and other data on their devices without permission. The finding comes in the wake of an FTC report last month calling for Congress to consider enacting general privacy legislation, as well as new regulations governing data security and breach notification legislation.
What are the questions in the survey?
Most surveys make the mistake of asking for absolutes (Do you care about X?).
In reality, surveys should ask about trade-offs (Would you pay X for Y? Do you prefer X to Y?).
This is important because policy proposals naturally tend to on benefits, but ignore the costs. Opportunity costs may be harder to see, but they should be considered.
To illustrate the point, imagine that regulations result in a 5-10% decrease in revenue for online advertising. Applications and web sites that host these ads should expect a similar loss of revenue. The implication is that they won't be able to innovate and improve their services as fast. The cost to consumers is there, the question is are they willing to pay that cost?