They also said they would consider asking the Federal Trade Commission to file a complaint against Intel. Privacy groups are determined that they will keep going until they force Intel to back down. The groups are angered by the actions of Intel and are determined to force a retreat. They fear that the Pentium III chip will make it too easy for direct mailers to target potential customers on the Net with spam. This indicates that the objections of the privacy groups are as much about the commercialisation of the Net as they are about the preservation of anonymity.
Net users value their anonymity and are wary about anything that threatens it.
There are many instances where anonymity is important for Net users. Dissidents criticising repressive regimes and participants in newsgroups dealing with sensitive issues such as abuse, expect and are entitled to anonymity. The removal of a guarantee of anonymity could stifle discussion of controversial and sensitive issues. However, there are problems in the way that privacy groups view anonymity on the Net. Concern about privacy has moved beyond the way it was traditionally understood, namely the defence of individual autonomy in the face of intrusion from the state.