A new national poll by the Center for Survey Research at the University of Connecticut shows that although the public is split over whether companies should turn search information over to the government, they do not support either Internet companies storing such information or the government monitoring it.
Only 13% of the public feel "extremely" or "very" confident that the search behavior collected by Internet companies will remain private. 33% feel "somewhat" confident, and 50% are either "not too" confident or "not at all" confident.
In the new survey of 800 Americans, 60% said they opposed the storage of users' search queries. Just 32% supported the practice, which the companies say is necessary to improve the performance of their services.
Similarly, when asked whether the government should monitor the Internet search behavior of "ordinary Americans," 65% said no and 30% said yes.
Apparently, even some opponents of having these records stored and mined believe that the subpoena ought to be followed. 50% say the companies should not comply with the government's request while 44% say the companies should.
According to Professor Samuel Best, Director of the Center for Survey Research and Analysis, "The public appears none to happy about the manner in which their Internet search queries are treated. They strongly oppose both companies permanently storing their search behaviors and the government monitoring them.
"Skepticism about the privacy of Internet search queries may be influencing how search engines are used. Internet users seem to avoid searches that might lead them to Web sites that, if exposed, would make them embarrassed or uncomfortable," added Best.
The survey was conducted by telephone with a scientific sample of 800 Americans from across the nation. Interviews were conducted from Tuesday January 31 through Sunday February 5, 2006. Sampling error is 3.5% at the 95% level of confidence for results based on all adults.
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