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Consumers
Wary of Personal Information Gathering on
the
Internet, Overwhelmingly Support Government Standards to Ensure
Online
Privacy
SAN
FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research from Odyssey reveals that
online users overwhelmingly support government intervention to
set standards for how companies may use personal information
gathered through the Internet and World Wide Web.
Forty-seven
percent of online household heads strongly agree that the
government should regulate the use of personal information
gathered online, and another 35 percent agree at least somewhat
with the concept. Furthermore, 59 percent strongly distrust
companies' ability or intention to keep personal information
confidential, regardless of the policies the companies have in
place. This data is based on random national telephone surveys
conducted by Odyssey as part of its annual effort to generate a
comprehensive map of the home media landscape.
"Consumers
have a fundamental distrust of the companies that gather their
personal information online," said Nick Donatiello,
president and CEO of Odyssey. "Unless these companies take
steps to build consumers' trust and confidence, they will force
consumers to look to the government to implement standards
regulating the use of personal information gathered
online."
Odyssey's
research has found that concerns about privacy and security on
the Internet and World Wide Web are pervasive among online
users. Fifty-eight percent of online consumers strongly express
fear about their personal information being stored on computers
all over the country. Similarly, 41 percent strongly feel that
those who believe websites are secure are just kidding
themselves.
Despite
these concerns, usage and penetration of online services has
increased steadily since 1994 when Odyssey first began tracking
such data. According to Odyssey's January 2000 Homefront study,
41 percent of U.S. households now subscribe to an online
service, up from 37 percent in July 1999 and only 6 percent in
July 1994. Furthermore, online purchasing has grown more than
ten-fold in the past three years, from 17 million purchases for
personal purposes from home in the six months prior to January
1997 to 191 million purchases in the second half of 1999.
"For an increasing number of consumers, the benefits
associated with the Internet and e-commerce are still worth the
perceived risks of exposing personal information online,"
said Donatiello.
Odyssey's
January 2000 Breadbox study revealed that, despite overwhelming
satisfaction with the online shopping experience, fifty-five
percent of online purchasers continue to harbor serious concerns
about giving their credit card number out online.
Odyssey
is the nation's only independent market research firm dedicated
exclusively to studying the complex and changing relationship
between consumers, technology, and at-home entertainment,
information, communication, and commerce. Each year Odyssey
conducts multiple large national studies, including Homefront,
Breadbox, and the Odyssey Study. The Odyssey Study consists of
interviews with 6,000 households and provides a comprehensive
understanding of consumers and new media. Odyssey's Homefront
study is a twice-yearly national survey of 2,500 households
which obtains thousands of statistics about what is actually
happening with PCs, CD-ROMs, commercial and Internet-based
online services, and video game console machines in the home.
Odyssey's Breadbox study is a twice-yearly national survey of
3,000 consumers focused exclusively on consumers' attitudes
toward and usage of electronic commerce.
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