Online privacy: the myth
p2pnet news | Freedom:- When it comes to online privacy, the majority of Americans have no idea what’s really going on, says a new academic study.
Most of them believe privacy policies, “create strong rules against collection and disclosure of personal data,” says the report, from the University of Pennsylvania Annenberg School for Communication and UC-Berkeley Law`s Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic.
But they’re wrong, a fact which is of special interest given attempts by the likes of MySpace, which has just announced purposedesigned HyperTargeting, to aim specific advertisements at users based on information the users themselves supplied —– unknowingly; and Facebook, which is, “preparing to announce details of its new platform” which, say reports, “suggest that it will give users the option of letting the site track their movements on the web at large,” says Times Online.
This makes it look as though users want this. And the way it’s worded raises the possibility users may have to opt out.
” … letting the site track their movements on the web at large”.
Think about it.
Meanwhile, “Annenberg surveys conducted in both 2003 and 2005 revealed that American adults do not know that privacy policies merely tell peoplehow the site will use their information – whether or not they will share it with affiliates and outside firms, and how,” says the study.
And, “Most Americans believe, logically, that the phrase privacy policy signifies that their information will be kept private.”
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today started a two-day Town Hall meeting, “to address consumer protection issues raised by the online tracking of consumer activities for targeted advertising,” says PC World, which has Chris Hoofnagle, one of the authors of the report and a senior staff attorney at the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, saying:
“Consumers still think that [online] privacy policies are representing that the Web site will not sell or use data in specific ways. But there is a disconnect between the business practices and consumer expectations.
“People think privacy notices mean certain default protections. Consumers don’t understand that privacy policies are just notices. They don’t guarantee any rights.”
Moreover, “Misperceptions concerning collection and tracking online are just the tip of the iceberg of consumer misunderstanding of protections offered by privacy policies,” says the survey.
“Consumers falsely believe that their rights extend far beyond not being tracked, and include protections against discriminatory pricing and rights guaranteeing the ability to delete personal information. For a more in-depth discussion of consumer perceptions in the online marketplace,
Says Samuelson:
When Annenberg explained the third- party network advertising model to survey respondents, 85% did not agree that a “valued” site should be able to serve clickstream advertising to them based on visits to other websites. The Annenberg survey also makes clear that many consumers do not understand or think through the privacy implications of sharing their real name and email address with a website.
The report builds on a joint paper released at the Federal Trade Commission’s 2007 “Tech-Ade” event, and recommends FTC police the term “privacy policy” so sites advertising the term, “provide protections consistent with consumer expectations,” it adds.
Click here for Consumers fundamentally misunderstand the online advertising market place (.pdf)
Also See:
purposedesigned HyperTargeting – MySpace: zeroing in on YOU, November 5, 2007
PC World – Most Consumers Clueless About Online Tracking, November 2, 2007
Times Online – Social Networks get personal with `hyper-targeting`, November 5, 2007
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November 5th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
In order to stop these invasions to privacy we should punish the criminal much harder. These “privacy” is not harming us on one hand, on the other hand one “bad apple” that will try to gain few dollar from one of the spamming companies will do it right away! the only way to stop it is to stop the spamming companies.