Recently completed research revealed that consumers recognize and credit these companies for delivering the kinds of goods and services consumers' value. Now they've created the PLI, because they know that same climate of trust is essential, if people are going to be comfortable doing business in the new economy, and if that new information driven economy is going to reach its full potential. You know as well as I, these challenges have already caught the attention of legislators and regulators at all levels. To understand this dynamic better, we commissioned the marketing research firm Harris Interactive to survey consumers to learn how they feel and think about privacy. We've completed the beta wave of what will be 6 waves of testing on a number of key metrics, each wave sampling the views of 3,000 individuals, online and off.
Copies are available on our Web site, understandingprivacy.org.
Let me share some of the results because it illustrates the challenge you face. 78 percent of online users and 79 percent offline say they do not trust businesses to use personal information properly. However, consumers have slightly more confidence in business than government to protect their information or set appropriate privacy standards. When asked whether they had more confidence in business or government to establish effective privacy practices, the consumers voted for business. 69 percent of those interviewed online expressed more confidence in business than government.