Almost 60 percent of Americans are uncomfortable with Web sites like Google, Yahoo and MSN using data
about a user's online activity to customize advertisements or content
based on a person's interests, according to a new Harris Interactive
survey.
Even after being introduced to four possible recommendations for
improving privacy and security polices, the survey respondents were
only "somewhat more comfortable" with Web sites' use of personal
information. The recommendations were based on the Federal Trade Commission's recent publication of possible self-regulatory principles for online behavioral advertising.
Dr. Alan F. Westin, a Columbia University law professor who designed
the survey for Harris Interactive, said in a statement that the lack of
an enthusiastic response to the FTC's proposed polices may have hinged
on two possibilities: concerns that companies would actually follow voluntary guidelines and, even if they did, the lack of any government enforcement mechanisms.
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