Digital Smarts - Consumers Around the World Agree: Privacy a Big Tech Negative

In a Microsoft poll of Internet users worldwide, it was found that while disagreeing markedly on a range of technology issues, consumers in developed and developing nations alike agree on two things about the personal tech boom: It's a fantastic economic stimulant and is desperately in need of privacy rules.

These findings as well as others come from a survey of 12,002 Internet users in 12 countries conducted over the past 12 months by Microsoft entitled Views from Around the Globe: 2nd Annual Poll on How Personal Technology Is Changing Our Lives. One area of deep divergence in the study shows that in developing nations, 77% of parents are excited about tech's ability to educate their kids, while in developed world 56% of parents wonder if it could be used a little less.