Will your privacy ever be protected?
"You don't have to be nuts to worry about privacy--I have these concerns myself. Yet a lot of people seem to go overboard, especially where online privacy is concerned," my colleague David Coursey wrote in a recent column covering Comcast's tracking of its customers' surfing habits. The company claimed that the data was used to improve server performance. "The folks there didn't think they were doing anything wrong. Heck, they thought they were doing something right," Coursey wrote.
MANY OF YOU weren't buying the arguments, neither the less-than-mindful approach to online privacy, nor the specifics of the Comcast incident.
"Many sites and services use aggregate information to improve performance or determine user needs without logging personally identifiable information," Tim Cook mentioned in a lengthy post. "Why did Comcast feel the need to be more invasive? If it didn't need to, why did it choose to? These sorts of questions are the ones being asked by users concerned with privacy."
"I'll tell you why I'm paranoid when you explain to me why DoubleClick uses cookies that track you, why we have Web bugs, and why we have browser helper objects--all of which companies install on our computers without our knowledge or permission," Patrick Mitchell added. "If the information they are collecting is on the up-and-up, and is not personally identifiable, then why don't they tell us they are doing it instead of sneaking around and stealing it. Yes, stealing, since that's what someone does when they take something from you without your knowledge or permission."
IN CONTRAST, for many of you these worries over online privacy are either overstated or a minor distraction. Or a hopeless cause.
"I'm more concerned about the hackers and people that are trying to steal our information, rather than the people who are trying to use your information to serve us better," Keith Johnson countered. "I've worked closely with all the ad-tracking companies. Besides making bad assumptions of what ads you wanted to see, and trying to target the spam a little more, they didn't do anything with the data that anyone would've cared about."
"At any point in a day, some administrator can make all traffic through their connection available for view. We turn on a couple of debugs at the routers and there is everything to see," self-described Internet administrator Brian Van Mondfrans argued. "Transfers from router to router, and server to home computer, are in plain, readable text. So, get over it. You should have lost that great sense of privacy the minute you signed up for that Internet connection."
In addition, there was hubbub over comparisons of Comcast's data collection activities to brick-and-mortar stores tracking buying habits with frequent buyers cards. Many of you spent time tearing apart, or defending, the fine points in the argument.
"My grocery store knows about every can of tuna fish I've ever bought. Why? Because I use its discount card. I choose to use it to save money. It's pretty obvious that they pay attention--they send me coupons at home to buy more," Dean Tozzoli offered. "The consumer has the right to know, and the right to say 'no.' If they don't like Comcast tracking them, cancel their service. Period. That will hit Comcast much harder than whatever Congress ever can do."
IGNORING THE BROADER privacy debate for a moment, here's a simple lesson that any online company can draw from Comcast's experience: A large percentage of customers are concerned about the collection of personal information. Or even the appearance of holding the data.
Yes, the customer isn't always right. Or wrong. Still, what company wants them mad, regardless of good intentions or the near-sainthood of employees? That's nothing personal; it's just business.
David Morgenstern, past editor of eMediaweekly and MacWEEK, is a freelance editor and branding consultant based in San Francisco.