Privacy Lost (pt 2)

Today I will be continuing the Privacy Lost article with part two of the segment. "On privacy, talk and actions are poles apart" discusses a survey conducted by MSNBC to see just how much privacy people are willing to give up. The results came from a group that are more interested in privacy issues than an average person, but the results seem to be consistent regardless of the level of interest according to the developers. The article does have some interesting items that are worth taking a look at. On the main page is a section where people discuss what privacy means to them and how things are changing, and a survey that you can take.

Conclusion: Americans are much more trusting than they say they are. Many people are willing to accept many privacy risks because it is such a difficult term to accurately assess. The survey showed that 88% of respondents said they could not trust their government or private corporations to protect their privacy. That is a lot of smart people if you ask me... But, many of those same respondents are also willing to share personal and private information with the very people they don't trust. They give personal information to get a supermarket loyalty card, and would use the E-Z pass to save a few cents on the tolls, not thinking that they just gave up a big chunk of their privacy...these are the same people who responded "that bothers me," when figuring out that their sense of privacy is getting slimmer everyday.

A large majority of the respondents were worried about government-related privacy issues, such as phone taps and Internet tracking. At the same time, they would be willing to submit biometric information or have a universal ID card. Is it the case of consumers being savvy as the article states, or are people just unaware and misinformed about the amount of information they regularly give up without a fight? With this also comes private corporations and the way they are perceived. Although it seems that Americans are very trusting, many agree that private corporations and government are both a threat to privacy. Ultimately, it boils down to what information an average person is willing to give up and to what extent they will go to ensure their privacy is protected.