Article: Internet users give mixed signals about online privacy concerns

SAN JOSE

AMERICANS are conflicted about Internet privacy. They say they want better protection for their personal data, but often trade away safeguards to connect with friends or find what they are looking for online.

Many experts agree privacy has eroded with the growth of social- networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace and the spread of behavioral advertising, where ads are fed to people based on their online behavior. What's hard to know is how much of this erosion people are willing to overlook for the sake of cyber convenience.

"The vast majority of people want to protect their privacy," said Larry Ponemon, chairman of the Ponemon Institute, a Traverse City, Mich., researcher ...

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