View Thread > Internet Law 2002 (St. John's) > Privacy poll: short answer > Depends on the website...
Do you take steps to protect your privacy or conceal your identity when browsing the web? For example, do you reject browser "cookies", give fake answers in web forms that ask for personal data, or give information only to sites that have privacy seals or good privacy policies. Or do you not bother, because, as Sun's Scott McNealy says, "you have no privacy, get over it."
Whether I take steps to conceal my identity depends upon the site. For example, if I am on espn.com, I usually don't bother taking any steps because I feel that it's really a magazine and is in the business of "sports stories" and thus would not sell my data- After the readings, I realize that I am probably being naive. I have to confess that I have never read any privacy policy notifications very closely, if at all.
Sometimes, I will give fake answers in web forms if, for example, I just want to access a site for a one-shot deal, but need to enter personal information first. Also, I do delete cookies from my computer every week or so, but that's only because my cousin said it helps myh computer run better.
I'd like to believe that we can still have privacy online and feel that P3P strikes a good balance in protecting all of the interests involved here. Hopefully, as more people reallize that companies are collecting information on them and selling it, they will be angered, and the collective action necessary for widespread P3P implementation will rise up.