Concerns about Internet privacy are leading many Americans to try to conceal their digital footprints by increasing their online anonymity, according to a study released Thursday.
Internet users also want more control over access to online information detailing shopping habits, personal information, photos and interests, according to the survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project.
Of the 792 people surveyed, 86 percent said they have taken steps to remove or hide their Internet activity, including clearing cookies and browser history and encrypting emails.
“Users clearly want the option of being anonymous online and increasingly worry that this is not possible,” said Lee Rainie, director of the center’s Internet project and an author of the study, in a prepared statement. “Their concerns apply to an entire ecosystem of surveillance. In fact, they are more intent on trying to mask their personal information from hackers, advertisers, friends and family members than they are trying to avoid observation by the government.”
About 21 percent of Internet users said they have had an email or social media account compromised or accessed without their permission.
And 11 percent said they have had personal information, such as their Social Security number, stolen.
Ashley Jones, of Rogers, said she was a victim of identity theft two years ago, when her birth date and Social Security number were stolen.
“That made me think,” she said. “I’m online every single day, whether I’m shopping online or on Twitter and Facebook.”
Jones said she hasn’t curbed her Internet use, but she worries about who could have her information.
“Our entire lives revolve around the Internet,” she said. “What really scares me is looking at these third party companies. … Are these companies selling my information?”
The release of the study comes days after Facebook announced changes to its data-use policy and after Acxiom Corp. rolled out its new website.
Facebook said last week that it was updating its data use policy and its statement of rights and responsibilities.
The company said in the announcement that it revised its explanation of how information, such as a person’s name, photos and interest, may be used in connection with advertisements.
Facebook announced earlier this year it was working with Acxiom and similar data collection companies to direct advertisements to users on the social-networking site.
Several privacy groups sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission this week asking the board to stop Facebook from changing its policies as it would make it easier for the company to use personal data about its users in advertisements.
“Facebook’s new plan undermines the privacy of hundreds of millions of users,” said Jeffery Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, which is one of the groups sending the letter.
Acxiom on Wednesday allowed public access to its new website, aboutthedata. com, which gives consumers a look at some of the data it collects on them.
Acxiom, a data broker in Little Rock, collects information about consumers through public records, its clients and from shopping habits, and then sells it to other clients, such as retailers, to use for marketing and direct advertisements.
The company’s website has raised new privacy concerns because some privacy and security experts say users have to give the company more information to access the website.
Ines Gutzmer, spokesman for the company, said information required to access the site is only used to verify the user.
“We are not collecting that data for other purposes,” she said in an email. “We have to verify the person [logging in].”
Unfortunately, privacy is almost nonexistent online, said Brajendra Panda, a professor in the computer science and computer-engineering department at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
“That’s the very unfortunate thing, actually,” he said. “Once you are out there, you are out there.”
Panda said it is hard for Internet users to be anonymous because many websites require information that could identify them.
“Everything you want to buy over the Internet you have to give your name and email ID,” he said. “They keep collecting data. They make it mandatory for users to provide that data.”
There should be stricter privacy laws to protect consumers when they are online, said John M. Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog’s privacy project.
“I think we need a fundamental baseline privacy law,” he said. “There’s no real general privacy law in the United States.”
Business, Pages 27 on 09/06/2013