The FTC also called for federal legislation to buttress the NAI plan, but the agreement between the FTC and online advertisers nevertheless was hotly disparaged by privacy advocates, who argued that the NAI plan was weak and that the federal government should act with much more muscle on the matter. Yet consumers are not fleeing e-tailers in droves. Many online marketing experts and even some online privacy proponents said that what seems like a gamble by Amazon may be an indication that the Net is settling into a balance between privacy desires and commercial needs. But consumers also want to have a relationship with a business. Advocates insisted, however, that lack of progress doesn't mean they are slipping in their efforts to create an enforceable privacy regime online.
Consumers consistently tell pollsters they place a high value on their privacy online.
But the Pew survey also showed that 56 percent of consumers have given personal information online as part of a purchase, and another 10 percent would willingly do so. The key, he said, is for consumers to feel as if they know the ground rules. The other thing people were telling us is they want control over their information. It makes the process much more transparent than usual. Some analysts pointed out that Amazon's decision to treat its customer information as a business asset is not very different than what more traditional companies have long done.