Nobody wants to be followed, spied upon, and tracked in real life.
Many people are advocating that personal information should be protected from misuse and unauthorized purposes. A U.S. Senator, Robert Torricelli, has introduced the Internet Privacy Act, which mandates that sites get the approval of users before any personal information can be disclosed to others. Legislation to control the use of cookies was introduced earlier this year as well, along with the formation of a Congressional Privacy Caucus which will work on future legislation. While it's important to track site traffic, viewer habits, and other statistics, personal user information should be kept private unless otherwise notified. A privacy statement on your web site both protects your online audience and encourages trust in your company.