Consumers say they, not government, are responsible for online privacy

Consumers hold themselves more responsible than government agencies for protecting the privacy of online information, according to a study released Wednesday.

The poll, conducted for the business-backed Privacy Leadership Initiative (PLI), found that online users believe individuals are most responsible for protecting privacy, with a 7.7 rating on a scale of 1 to 10. Businesses rated 7.2, and government, 6.9.

"What we are seeing is slightly different from what other people are seeing," John Kamp, PLI's acting executive director, said in reference to a Markle Foundation report issued Tuesday. That report found that consumers want greater accountability and regulation of the Internet.

"Consumers consider themselves responsible and want to exercise control, but they are confused as hell at the privacy policies they are reading and they are not using the [privacy-enhancing] tools that are available," Kamp said.