Here is NYT on a recent survey:

As arguments swirl over online privacy, a new survey indicates the issue is a dominant concern for Americans.

More than half of respondents said government should be “wholly” or “very” responsible for protecting an individual’s online privacy.

Here is TRUSTe's press release on the survey they conducted:

The TRUSTe survey found that consumers still hold themselves responsible when it comes to online protection: respondents indicated that “Individuals” and “Website owners” are most responsible for an individual’s online privacy, with four fifths of respondents indicating each was very or wholly responsible. A large percentage also reported that ISP’s and Browser manufacturers were very or wholly responsible – 70%, while government was seen as having the least responsibility with only 57% of respondents indicating the government was very or wholly responsible for protecting an individual’s online privacy through legislation or regulation.

From the recent archive, Noam Cohen's friend:

Privacy is serious. It is serious the moment the data gets collected, not the moment it is released.