If I tell you about new Web development tools and recommend some over others, will you believe me?

Now suppose I ask for some information about you: what's your name? Your job title? How much money do you plan to spend on your Web site in 1997? Are you looking to buy Java development software?

Now we're into a whole new area of trust, one where I'm asking for information that I may want to use or pass along to others, such as advertisers. Do you trust me with that information?

First time users need to make up a name and password.

In addition to finding that growth of the Web may be slowing (whew!), GVU found that privacy was the Number Two concern (26%), behind censorship, and ahead of navigation issues. Women rated privacy as their top concern. (Almost one third of the respondents were women; the average age was nearly 35 years old.)

Some critics on the Usenet say the GVU survey overrepresents more savvy Web users, rather than mainstream surfers. The high average age (nearly 35 years old) and high median income ($60,000+) may suggest these were mostly professionals with some connection to the computer industry.

Why don't they register?

• 70% said they didn't know how the information would be used,
• 66% said the risks outweighed the benefits, and
• 39% didn't want to take the time.

What's more, one third of those polled had falsified information when registering for a Web site.

James Pitkow -- graduate researcher at Georgia Tech and visiting fellow at Xerox PARC -- says the survey reveals some interesting misconceptions.

"People are not tremendously educated about the information that's being collected," Pitkow says. "There's a disparity between what people think can be logged, what can be logged, and what they think should be logged."

Most people who took the survey agreed that publishers should have the right to log which pages were accessed and when, but less than half thought it was okay for servers to note the type of browser accessing the page -- a fairly common feature of most traffic programs. What's more, less than a quarter of users thought it was okay to collect more sensitive data, like the user's email address and location.

Tracking Footprints

Forrester Research's report predicting the growth of advertiser networks. (BTW, you must register to read it :-)

DoubleClick says it uses a proprietary technology called Dart to register and track unique users visiting sites within its advertiser network (60 sites, including the Alta Vista and Lycos search engines, the Web Developers Virtual Library, MapQuest, Travelocity, Gamelan, and the Internet Movie Database). By doing so, DoubleClick says it has "compiled the most comprehensive Internet user profile database" allowing it to "dynamically match advertiser-selected target profiles with individual user profiles and dynamically deliver an appropriate, targeted banner."

DoubleClick doesn't track you by your name or email, but it does assign a number to you based on your computer's IP address. So they may know a lot about you, even if your name isn't part of it. Is that privacy?

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Center for Democracy and Technology

"DoubleClick doesn't have personal information on you," Pitkow says. "But as a consumer, were you able to make a decision about whether you wanted to participate in their system?"

One way to guarantee privacy is through some form of government regulation. Last June, the Federal Trade Commission held a two-day hearing to explore the issues of online privacy, hearing from business and the privacy advocates. The FTC released its report on the hearings earlier this month, saying that while there's a broad acceptance of the importance of online privacy, opinions differ on whether government regulation is necessary. Generally, industry representatives say it isn't necessary, but consumer advocates say these technologies are inadequate without some governmental regulation.

The bill prevents "interactive computer services" (including Web sites), from disclosing any personally identifiable information to a third party without written consent from the consumer.

Web sites would have to make their records available to anyone in them, and allow them to verify and correct the information. The FTC would have the power to enforce the law. It could shut down any Web site that breached its responsibilities, and consumers could take civil action.

eTRUST's Commercial Solution

Read Dale Dougherty's November 8, 1996 IMHO column, "Increasing Privacy, Decreasing Anonymity."

eTRUST aims to put one of three recognizable icons on major Web sites, each of which tells the user what level of privacy they are guaranteed at that site. The three levels are:

• No exchange (users are anonymous -- except, of course, for billing purposes);
• One-to-one collection (the site may collect personal information, but they won't disclose it to anyone else); and
• Third-party exchange (which means, they're selling or giving your information to others, with your permission).

Participating sites would be audited, either universally or on a spot-check basis. The program's backers include the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Coopers & Lybrand, the Boston Consulting Group, and CommerceNet.

Lori Fena of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, says the pilot program for eTRUST has launched with 40 participants -- and 400 more sites waiting in the wings to apply.

The goal is to standardize the disclosure process, so users understand how their data will be used. Fena says when users trust a site, they often don't mind giving up their personal information -- which they know is valuable to publishers and advertisers.

"People are more concerned about how it is going to be used than what information is being collected," she says.

It remains to be seen if that disclosure will be enough to convince skeptical Web users to open up and divulge the personal and demographic information that publishers and advertisers crave.

Do you give out personal information to Web sites?

If not, why not? Let us know.