Majority Uncomfortable with Websites Customizing Content Based Visitors Personal...

Majority Uncomfortable with Websites Customizing Content Based Visitors Personal Profiles

Level of Comfort Increases When Privacy Safeguards Introduced
ROCHESTER, N.Y.--(Business Wire)--
A majority of U.S. adults are skeptical about the practice of
websites using information about a person's online activity to
customize website content. However, after being introduced to four
potential recommendations for improving websites privacy and security
polices, U.S. adults become somewhat more comfortable with the
websites 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(R). 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%) are not comfortable when websites
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%) is
not at all comfortable and 34 percent are not very
comfortable;

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

Dr. Westin observed: "Websites pursuing customized or behavioral
marketing maintain that the benefits to online users that advertising
revenues make possible - such as free emails 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 websites
directing content to website visitors' hobbies and interests, we
probed as to whether the 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. (http://www.ftc.gov/os/2007/12/P859900stmt.pdf).

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 Echo Boomers
(aged 18-31) and Gen Xers (aged 32-43) are initially more comfortable
with the notion of websites 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 X'ers increase to 56
percent from 45 percent. Baby Boomers' comfort increases to a
majority (52%) from 34 percent;

-- Only Matures remain uncomfortable with the websites
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 websites would increase
after being told that websites 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.

Dr. Alan 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."

-0-
*T
TABLE 1
COMFORTABLE WITH WEBSITES THAT TAILOR CONTENT TO PERSONAL INTERESTS

"On another topic, as you may know, websites like Google, Yahoo!, and
Microsoft (MSN) are able to provide free search engines or free e-
mail accounts because of the income they receive from advertisers
trying to reach users on their websites. How comfortable are you when
those websites use information about your online activity to tailor
advertisements or content to your hobbies and interests?"
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Base: All adults
Generation
----------------------------------
Total Echo Gen X Baby Matures
Boomers (32-43) Boomers (63+)
(18-31) (44-62)
------------------------------------------
% % % % %
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Comfortable (NET) 41 49 45 34 31
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Very Comfortable 7 9 9 5 4
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Somewhat comfortable 34 40 36 29 27
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Not Comfortable (NET) 59 51 55 66 69
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Not very Comfortable 34 35 30 36 34
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Not at all Comfortable 25 17 25 30 35
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding
*T

TABLE 2

COMFORTABLE WITH WEBSITES ADOPTING PRIVACY AND SECURITY POLICIES

"Some websites using customized marketing and seeking to insure
user trust could adopt privacy and security policies for their
customization program. The web site would:

-- Explain to all users how it would use information about their
online activities to customize content or advertising to their
interests;

-- Offer users some choices about the type of tailored content
and advertising shown to them;

-- Apply reasonable security measures to safeguard online user
information;

-- Promise not to share any user's personally identifiable
consumer information from their online activities with other
companies without the user's consent.

If a website adopted and followed all of these policies, how
comfortable would you then be with companies using information about
your online activities to serve customized ads or content to you?"

-0-
*T
Base: All adults
Generation
-----------------------------------
Total Echo Gen X Baby Matures
Boomers (32-43) Boomers (63+
(18-31) (44-62)
--------------------------------------------
% % % % %
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Comfortable (NET) 55 62 56 52 46
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Very Comfortable 9 10 9 9 4
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Somewhat comfortable 46 52 46 43 42
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Not Comfortable (NET) 45 38 44 48 54
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Not very Comfortable 26 27 25 26 28
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Not at all Comfortable 19 11 19 22 26
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding
*T

Methodology

The Harris Poll(R) was conducted online within the United States
March 11 and 18, 2008, among 2,513 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures
for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income
were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their
actual proportions in the online population.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability
sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most
often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error,
coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated
with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting
and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words
"margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated
are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities
for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These
are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this
ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who
have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data
have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population.
Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the
Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error
can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the
National Council on Public Polls.

J33557

Q1005, Q1010

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research.
With a long and rich history in multimodal research, powered by our
science and technology, we assist clients in achieving business
results. Harris Interactive serves clients globally through our North
American, European and Asian offices and a network of independent
market research firms. For more information on Harris Interactive,
please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.To become a member of the
Harris Poll Online and be invited to participate in online
surveys, register at www.harrispollonline.com.

Harris Interactive Inc. 4/08

Harris Interactive
Tracey McNerney, 585-214-7756

Copyright Business Wire 2008