Mozilla Named 'Most Trusted Internet Company For Privacy'

redletterdave writes "Mozilla announced on Tuesday that it has been named the 'Most Trusted Internet Company For Privacy' in 2012, according to a new independent study released by the Ponemon Institute early this morning (PDF). Ponemon Institute surveyed more than 100,000 adult-aged consumers over a 15-week period ending in December 2012; of the 6,704 respondents, representing 25 different industries, Mozilla was ranked the top Internet and social media company. While this is a great achievement for Mozilla, especially considering this was their first year making the list, Mozilla's team took note of the fact that 'Internet and social media' was still the least trustworthy sector out of the 25 total industries listed. 'It means we as an industry all have a lot more work to do,' Mozilla wrote on its blog."

I skimmed the PDF...

[TWX]

...and it's all about perception and how people feel, not how the world actually works. Therefore, it may give people fuzzy/happy feelings, but it doesn't necessarily mean squat if it's not actually correct.

This is the Peoples' Choice Awards of privacy and security. And remember, when you think of how stupid the average person is, bear in mind that 50% are below that.

What did they expect?

[steelfood]

Social media, by definition, is an invasion of privacy. Except it's usually not some faceless corporation invading your privacy, but yourself, and the people with whom you socialize.

You can't socialize without giving up some privacy, plain and simple. And you're not going to be able to do socialize online, where all data is stored digitally and can be copied on a whim, without exposing your socializing to the entire world. Whether the rest of the world cares is another matter altogether.