SOPA Supported, Apple Trusted, Internet Data Collection Feared by Californians

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Strange days in the world of technology: You're afraid your information is being ripped off by big internet companies. But you support the much-maligned SOPA legislation. And you trust Apple, in recent times the most valuable corporation on the planet.

Huh?

Those are some of the contradictory results from the latest USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll:

The survey found that a slight majority of Californian voters are in favor of the now-defunct Stop Online Piracy Act,, which would have put up internet roadblocks to sites even mildly associated with piracy.

And, despite your high concern for unscrupulous data collection by tech giants, Apple was the most-trusted tech company in the state. It beat out the next competitor, Google.

But ... none of the companies, rated on a scale of 1 to 10 by voters, got above a 5.

And the poll says that 82 percent of voting Californians are very or somewhat concerned about their personal information ending up in the darkside vortex of such internet titans.

A vast majority of you also think that websites that track your browsing history are violating your privacy.

Dan Schnur, the poll's director:

Overwhelmingly Californians did not like the idea of their personal information being used for commercial purposes and they weren't shy in telling us about that. This should be a stark warning sign for online providers as they collect this information. Voters in the largest state in the country, the home of Silicon Valley, may be the most savvy users of online technology in the country. And they are resentful -- almost angry -- because they feel that their personal information isn't being handled with the appropriate deference and care.

Angry, yes. But we're down letting content providers sensor the Internet.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]