Majority Uncomfortable with Web Sites Customizing Content

A majority of U.S. adults are skeptical about the practice of Web sites using information about a person's online activity to customize Web site content. However, after being introduced to four potential recommendations for improving Web sites privacy and security polices, U.S. adults become somewhat more comfortable with the Web sites use of personal information.

These are some of the results of a nationwide survey of 2,513 U.S. adults surveyed online between March 11 and 18, 2008 by Harris Interactive. This survey was designed in collaboration with Dr. Alan F. Westin, Professor of Public Law and Government Emeritus at Columbia University, Principal of the Privacy Consulting Group, and a noted authority on privacy issues.

Specifically, the survey found:

• A six in ten majority (59 percent) are not comfortable when Web sites like Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft (MSN) use information about a person's online activity to tailor advertisements or content based on a person's hobbies or interests. A quarter (25 percent) is not at all comfortable and 34 percent are not very comfortable;

• The remaining 41 percent who say that are comfortable with Web sites tailoring content is split between 7 percent who are very comfortable and 34 percent who are somewhat comfortable.

Westin observed: "Web sites pursuing customized or behavioral marketing maintain that the benefits to online users that advertising revenues make possible -- such as free e-mails or free searches and potential lessening of irrelevant ads -- should persuade most online users that this is a good tradeoff. Though our question flagged this position, 59 percent of current online users clearly do not accept it."

After exploring the adult public's level of comfort of Web sites directing content to Web site visitors' hobbies and interests, Harris probed as to whether U.S. adults would alter their views after seeing a series of potential policy and security policies. These were based on the Federal Trade Commission's current publication about the adoption of possible self-regulatory principles for online behavioral advertising.

After four privacy/security policies were introduced, U.S. adults did change their opinions:

• By 55 to 45 percent, a majority of U.S. adults indicates that they would be more comfortable with companies using information about a person's online activities to provide customized advertising or content;

• Interestingly, once the privacy/security policies were presented the percentages of those who are very comfortable increases only very slightly to 9 percent from 7 percent. The percentage who are somewhat comfortable given the privacy/security policies increases more significantly to 46 percent from 34 percent;

• Similarly, those who are not at all comfortable decline to 19 percent from 25 percent, and those who are not very comfortable decline to 26 percent from 34 percent.

By Generation

Analysis of these results more closely by age indicates a difference in views by generations. Those who are younger, so called "Echo Boomers," (aged 18-31) and Gen Xers (aged 32-43) are initially more comfortable with the notion of Web sites customizing content than older Baby Boomers (aged 44-62) and Matures (aged 63 or older).

• After being presented with the privacy/security policies, all generations level of comfort increase. Echo Boomers increase to 62 percent from 49 percent. Gen Xers increase to 56 percent from 45 percent. Baby Boomers' comfort increases to a majority (52 percent) from 34 percent;

• Only Matures remain uncomfortable with the Web sites customizing advertising and content though the level of support rises to 46 percent from 31 percent.

This survey measured reaction to hypothetical policy recommendations with which the adult public is likely to not be familiar. Therefore, it may not be a surprise that the public's indication that their level of comfort with Web sites would increase after being told that Web sites would introduce privacy and security policies designed to insure user trust. However, what may be surprising is that the level of comfort did not increase more.

Westin commented: "The failure of a larger percentage of respondents to express comfort after four privacy policies were specified may have two bases -- concerns that Web companies would actually follow voluntary guidelines, even if they espoused them, and the absence of any regulatory or enforcement mechanism in the privacy policy steps outlined in the question."