But the ability to retain control of one's personal information needs to be the default of any site's privacy policy. And some consumers wish people would take privacy in their own hands. The best way would be for all of us to just boycott sites that don't offer opt-in. Otherwise, companies wouldn't offer those deals. We don't spend a lot of time thinking about saying 'hi' to people, but if someone doesn't say 'hi,' we notice and it bothers us.
Privacy falls in the same category.
Brad Grimes, former executive editor for PC World , is vice president of Content Foundry. Michael S. Lasky is a senior editor and Dennis O'Reilly is a senior associate editor for PC World .