• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, April 15, 2010

Debunking the oft-repeated assertion that young people don't care about privacy, new research shows that Web users between the ages of 18 and 24 are highly protective of certain information about themselves.  

"With important exceptions, large percentages of young adults are in harmony with older Americans when it comes to sensitivity about online privacy and policy suggestions," states the study, authored by professors at UC Berkeley and the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School.

The study was submitted this week to the Federal Trade Commission, which recently concluded a series of three privacy roundtables. The report, which cost $55,000 to commission, was based on a telephone survey of 1,000 Americans.

One of the most significant findings is that 82% of people ages 18-24 say they have refused to disclose information seen as too personal or unnecessary to businesses. Overall, 88% of people of all age groups surveyed said the same.

In addition, 88% of respondents between the ages of 18 and 24 say that Web sites and ad companies should be required by law to delete all stored information about individuals. That figure compares to 92% of respondents of all ages who said the same.

What's more, 62% of 18- to-24-year-old respondents say they believe the law should give people the right to learn what information Web sites have about them.

While the findings appear to contradict popular wisdom about young people's attitudes, Berkeley Law School's Chris Hoofnagle says the results are consistent with previous research by social media experts like Danah Boyd. "People who have done qualitative research have said for many years now that young people care very much about their social networking privacy. That's evidenced by the fact that they spend so much time grooming their profile," says Hoofnagle, who was one of the study's authors.

He adds that one reason why young people are perceived as indifferent to privacy is because some say they're not concerned about the use of their data by institutions. "Young people's focus is more about who, among their peers, will access their data," he says, adding that it often isn't until people get older and apply for jobs, or products like health insurance, that they realize how corporations or other entities might use personal data.

Hoofnagle says he believes the findings could affect lawmakers' willingness to enact new online privacy protections. "There's been this assumption that future generations will care less. That has caused some inaction among regulators," he says. "One argument that's frequently employed is the idea that we shouldn't regulate now, because laws passed today would reflect the norms of the 35-year-old attorney who works in Washington, D.C., and not the teen users of Internet services."

Some of the findings seem especially relevant for companies that use behavioral advertising techniques. Thirty-three percent of 18- to-24-year-olds say they deleted cookies often, while 25% say they do so sometimes. Among respondents of all ages, 39% say they often delete cookies, while 24% say they sometimes erase cookies.