A few weeks ago, ReputationDefender Blog reported that Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) was in the process of drafting new legislation that would curb behavioral advertising and provide consumers with control over how their information is used by marketers online. The proposed legislation generated substantial discussion among both privacy advocates as well as Internet marketers.
Naturally, marketers opposed the legislation, saying it would be too unwieldy to enforce and that it would inhibit economic growth. On the opposite side of the spectrum, privacy advocates praised Rep. Boucher for paying attention to an issue that has become one of the most hotly contested of the Internet age. Thanks to the unprecedented growth of social media, privacy advocates argue, finding detailed information about an individual online is not only easy, but fast and free.
Lost in the discussion of Rep. Boucher’s legislation, however, was how the public feels about behavioral advertising. Does the average Internet user care whether or not they are being tracked online? Do they even care? Recently, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Berkeley set out to answer these questions through a joint national study. The results are telling.
According to the study, which is billed as “the first independent, nationally representative telephone survey on behavioral advertising,” two-thirds of Americans oppose online tracking for tailored marketing purposes. Furthermore, when told how Internet marketers track user activity online, the percentage of survey respondents opposed to the tactics increased. Check out a graphic representation of the survey results below.
It is interesting to note that, while younger demographics were less likely to object to behavioral advertising than older demographics, respondents in the 18-24 and 25-34 age groups still oppose the tactics by a solid majority. This statistic goes against the assumed perception that younger people don’t care about their privacy online, which is an important development given that these age groups are going to be the most affected by the ongoing changes to Internet legislation.
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[...] advertising is a hot issue on the internet today. Despite the fact that consumers overwhelmingly reject it, internet companies rely on behavioral advertising for billions of dollars in advertising revenues. [...]
[...] minds of consumers regarding data mining and behavioral advertising. Considering that studies show consumers oppose behavioral advertising, it seems like the internet companies may be in the weaker position, but, like any good fight, [...]
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