Privacy and our use of user data was, of course, a key concern.
"Dating sites also host millions of intensely private scraps of user data," Beardsley said.
The best way to guarantee the safety of user data is for it to not exist.
Unfortunately Yahoo's disregard for the safety of user data led to the use of out-dated security techniques.
From smart thermostats to smart cars, its flagship products take constant, always-on, real-time streams of user data for granted.
The combination will allow Time, which owns Sports Illustrated, Time Magazine and several other storied print publications, to combine its editorial offerings with a storehouse of user data.
What AOL and Verizon could theoretically offer in the medium-term future through the combination of user data, content creation and advanced advertising technology is the holy grail.
Google has also been under investigation in Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain for its handling of user data since introducing new company guidelines two years ago.
Republican Senator John Kennedy and Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, who are both members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, demanded hearings on the security of user data online.
EFF also found that the Snowden revelations about government surveillance of data have prompted technology companies to increase their protection of user data.
Yet 59 percent said collection of user data for targeted advertising was an unjustified use of a person's private information.
