The internet is an ideal surveillance system, since all the data is already conveniently in digital format. The paths we take across the hyperlinked space of the web carry an enormous amount of easily processed information about our interests and desires. Market research companies have been very quick to understand the potential of the web for targeted and very accurate market research. They are now fighting an aggressive battle to protect their access to and use of this personal information. They would like to avoid government regulation in this area, and are marketing themselves as rigorously self-regulating protectors of your privacy.
Cookies are convenient.
It is strangely pleasant to be recognized on arrival at a web-site you have used before. I shop on-line. I fill in forms in exchange for free software. The benefits for sacrificing your data are real. By and large, consumers are getting comfortable with the trade-offs.