US Consumers Concerned About Privacy of Internet Searches
Friday, 24 February 2006
A survey by the University of Connecticut’s Center for Survey Research and Analysis shows that Internet users are protective of their privacy online. That said, they are divided on the question of whether search engine companies such as Google and Yahoo should comply with a recent federal government request for information about search habits.
Half of the 800 respondents to the University of Connecticut's poll said the company shouldn't turn over search queries to the government, while 44 percent said they should. The responses reflected partisan differences about the Bush administration request, with 67 percent of Democrats opposing the data release, compared with 30 percent of Republicans.
Poll respondents register considerable privacy concerns when it comes to Web searching. Asked whether they support government monitoring of "search behaviors of ordinary Americans," 65 percent of respondents were opposed, compared with 30 percent in favor.
But what about the search engine companies storing such search data in the first place? Search companies maintain that they need this information to improve service. But 60 percent of the respondents opposed the permanent storage of search records.
Half of the respondents also said they lacked confidence that their searches would remain private, and only 13 percent admitted to searching for Web sites they wouldn't want others to know about.