SmartBlogs on Social Media

SmartPulse — our weekly reader poll in SmartBrief on Social Media — tracks feedback from leading marketers about social media practices and issues.

Last week’s poll question: Would you be in favor of legislation that gives consumers more control over their personal information online?

• Yes — it’s about time Congress took action 61.75%
• No — the less regulatory control the government has over free enterprise the better 24.42%
• I’m undecided 13.82%

It’s not everyday you can get more than 60% of a group to advocate federal intervention in private industry. But I can’t say I’m surprised. Whenever the topic of privacy comes up on this blog, we hear from readers who are frustrated with the state of online privacy. Most of us know that putting information on the Internet carries certain risks. But when the terms for disclosing that information keep being revised, it’s difficult — even for reasonable, well-informed people — to be sure they’re keeping their information as secure as they’d like. You can’t play the game well if the rules keep changing. Perhaps its time for a constant set of rules that protect users from the whims of their networks.