"I think they are very concerned because they have a sense that information is being captured, and they're not sure where it's going," Leibowitz told a small group of reporters at the FTC's Western Region office in San Francisco on Thursday. "I don't think most of us understand how it's captured and transferred and monetized, but I think there is generally concern from consumers about that."
As social and mobile technology continue to explode and proliferate the amount of information people reveal about themselves -- including location, preferences and consumption habits -- a number of recent high profile gaffes by tech companies have thrust privacy issues more into the public eye.
Google, Apple, Facebook and Twitter have all been the subject of relatively visible privacy breaches or questions over the past several months. To name a few examples: Google is currently being investigated by the Federal Communications Commission regarding personal emails and data collected by its Street View cars; Facebook missed a deadline to grant European users more control over privacy; Sen. Charles Schumer called out Apple and Google for allegedly stealing users' private contacts without their consent; and Twitter faced criticism for storing iPhone app users' contacts on its own servers.
Some believe as younger people grow up in a world where digital sharing has become the norm, personal privacy standards are relaxing and public is becoming the new private. But Leibowitz believes privacy is still of paramount importance to consumers in the social networking age.
"I have certainly heard the notion that youth don't care about privacy and just want to share as much as they can," he said Thursday. "I think if you drilled down a little bit on that data, it's actually not that accurate for everyone."
Will personal privacy standards relax as social media becomes more entrenched in everyday life? Or will increased sharing mean heightened consumer vigilance about controlling personal information? Let us know in the comments.