Consumer Reports National Research Center recently conducted a very interesting and telling survey on how Internet users view privacy. It seems that people are not necessarily opposed to having personal information on the Internet, they just don't want their information tracked and then sold without their knowledge.  Donna Tapellini with Consumer Reports blog, hit the nail on the head when she said that people want more control over what's happening.  There are some benefits for consumers to this tracking process, but we all need to understand that this is happening and have some control.  In order for consumers to have control and make an informed choice, we need greater transparency from online companies.

I recently attended and participated in the Progress and Freedom Foundation's Summit in Aspen, Colorado.

The Summit panel discussion topics included new debates about intermediary liability on the Internet, online behavioral advertising, marketing and privacy, and next generation network policy.   In addition, there was a fascinating panel discussion about communications and information policy with government officials from Mexico, Germany, Japan and Spain.  Ambassador David Gross (US Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy with the U.S. Department of State) served as moderator for the session.

I spoke at one of the program's working dinners, addressing "Kids, Media and Marketing:  Child Safety and Privacy in a Web 2.0 World."  This working dinner discussion, moderated by PFF's Adam Thierer, focused on legislative and regulatory proposals that would regulate various types of media content, platforms, or forms of online communications and commerce in response to child safety and privacy concerns.  The lively off-the-record discussion also included remarks from several congressional staff, as well as representatives from Microsoft, MySpace.com, and the Family Online Safety Institute.

I spoke about the results of my online safety survey conducted a few months ago,, highlighting the generational differences regarding safety and the respondents overwhelming concern about protecting personal privacy.

Overall, the Summit provided me with some thoughtful new views on communications policy issues both in the U.S. and abroad, current policy debates, as well as the issues we need to consider in the future.

Check out the article in today's Washington Post, "When Young Teachers Go Wild on the Web."  The article reveals how some young teachers are finding that their "private" Facebook profiles and photos can actually be viewed by a wider circle, including their school district administrators.  In some cases, revealing and inappropriate photos have led to dismissal from professional positions.
 
Teens and young adults are under the false impression that only their "friends" can view the images and comments one enters on a Facebook or MySpace page.  The Washington Post article describes one teacher's discovery that her Facebook is not as private as she thought.  "Like several other teachers interviewed, Webster said she thought her page could only been seen by people she accepted as "friends." But like those of many teachers on Facebook, Webster's profile was accessible by the more than 525,000 members of the Washington, D.C. network.  Anyone can join any geographic network."

Parents... tell your kids, teens and young adults about the risks of sharing personal, private information and pictures online.  What goes online stays online ... and can be viewed for many years by current and future employers, colleagues, college admissions officers, and others.