The information that companies learn about us is valuable. It's useful for marketing, in particular, but in some circumstances personal information is worth big money. Insurance companies, for example, are always looking for reasons not to insure people who might ever file a claim. That's strong incentive to collect data on potential customers. Meanwhile, the people who run commercial Web sites have an article of faith that I have some difficulty refuting so far.
Businesses know from experience that consumers care more about price and convenience than privacy.
A solid majority of people in the Pew survey say they're willing to provide some personal information to Web sites. Online businesses also point out, accurately, that they're only doing with data what traditional companies have done for years. Maybe I should have lied to the car-shopping Web site. A quarter of Netizens in the Pew survey say they've given fake names or personal information to Web sites. A fifth used secondary e-mail addresses, keeping their main one to themselves.