November 2014

The majority of adults in a new survey by the Pew Research Center feel that their privacy is being challenged along such core dimensions as the security of their personal information and their ability to retain confidentiality.

When Americans are asked what comes to mind when they hear the word “privacy,” there are patterns to their answers. As the above word cloud illustrates, they give important weight to the idea that privacy applies to personal material -- their space, their “stuff,” their solitude, and, importantly, their “rights.” Beyond the frequency of individual words, when responses are grouped into themes, the largest block of answers ties to concepts of security, safety, and protection. For many others, notions of secrecy and keeping things “hidden” are top of mind when thinking about privacy.

• Most are aware of government efforts to monitor communications
• Widespread concern about surveillance by government and businesses
• There is little confidence in the security of common communications channels, and those who have heard about government surveillance programs are the least confident
• Most say they want to do more to protect their privacy, but many believe it is not possible to be anonymous online
• Not everyone monitors their online reputation very vigilantly, even though many assume others will check up on their digital footprints
• Context matters as people decide whether to disclose information or not
• Different types of information elicit different levels of sensitivity among Americans

[Commentary] Our society has failed to keep up with technology. Security breaches, which could happen to anyone, are a wake-up call for all of us to think, and act, differently than before. Put simply, as technology changes, you and I need to change, as well.

We’re at a point where we need new life skills so we can safely and fully enjoy the benefits of the Internet. We need to prepare ourselves to use new communications technology, just like when we learn to drive. We go to driving school to improve our safety and the safety of others. Why shouldn’t we do the same when we decide to go online? Ideas like these are embodied in a growing movement known as digital citizenship. Digital citizenship represents an evolution in our norms -- the ways we think about our personal responsibility, and the ways we respect and look out for others online. This movement is gaining momentum.

[Anderson is Chief Legal Officer at AVG Technologies]

Bad government Web sites, it seems, go hand in hand with people feeling bad about being American.

Testing a sample of six federal Web sites, the research firm Forrester rated the Internal Revenue Service's the worst, and the Department of Veterans Affairs the best. But even the VA site provided a worse consumer experience than the most poorly-reviewed corporate site. The customer experience "is disastrously weak," Forrester said. Across the board, government Web sites meet the expectations of their users only 33 percent of the time, according to the report. And the worse people felt about their interaction with a government Web site, the more they felt like second-class citizens and less optimistic about the future of the United States. Forrester plans to take a look at a wide variety of federal sites, but in the meantime suggests, surprisingly, that government Web sites should not try to appear efficient. People like sites that feel like humans made them, the firm says.

Progress in the creation of standards is laying the foundation for a carrier Wi-Fi market that will be worth nearly $8 billion by 2019, ABI Research predicted.

Cisco and Ruckus Wireless are the leading equipment vendors in these early days, and Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson and Nokia are also vying for a piece of the pie. “More than 12” Next Generation Hotspot (NGH) networks are active worldwide, according to ABI, and Asia-Pacific has more installed hotspots than any other geographic market.