Is persuasion inherently unethical?

I've never really considered the ethics involved with Internet technology, perhaps because I've always accepted its persuasion techniques as an annoying fact of life, but after reading Fogg's thoughts on the issue in his book Persuasive Technology, I see how there should be some cause for concern.

I am very aware not to click on pop up or banner ads advising me that I have $1,000 or a free ipod waiting for me, but is a 12 year old? I know that my family computer back home in NC is so laden with viruses from programs my brother either purposely or inadvertently downloaded that it is often impossible to get online at this point. Like anything in life, many people fail to read the fine print associated with downloads or promotions, which can turn out to be an extremely frustrating and/or expensive mistake. And there's not much a person can do to combat it. A computer isn't a person, you can't take it to court. Whenever I call Dell for technical support, an automated voice reminds me as I'm holding that they are not responsible for any problems cause by third party software and all they can do to help is recommend programs that may or may not help.

Fogg also made a suggestion in which a company could use the Internet as a tool for operant conditioning (Bandura's theory concerning the use of reinforcement or punishment to promote certain behavior).

For instance, a company could create a Web browser that uses operant conditioning to change people's Web surfing behavior without their awareness. If the browser were programmed to give faster page downloads to certain Web sites - say, those affiliated with the company's strategic partners - and delay the download of other sites, users would be subtly rewarded for accessing certain sites and punished for visiting others.

Fogg considers this possibility unethical and so do I. What worries me most is that chances are good even people that are fairly technologically knowledgeable like myself would likely have no idea it was happening. Between work and school, I am a busy person with no time to wait around for pages to load. As the Web becomes increasingly savvy and more people of all ages and cultures log on, ethical red flags will continue to be a cause for concern. It's great that the Net is unregulated and a true platform for freedom of expression but are the costs getting too high?