• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, October 18, 2023

Sorry to have to tell you this: It’s time to sober up.  

Americans are very concerned about their privacy, and they trust business less than they trust government, judging by How Americans View Data Privacy, a study by Pew Research Center.  

Republicans are more worried than Democrats -- with the percentage rising from 63% who were concerned in 2019 to 77% this year. In contrast, 65% of Democrats are concerned -- down slightly from 66% in 2019.  

But people on both sides support more legislation on how consumer data is used, including 68% of Republicans and 78% of Democrats.  

Overall, 67% have no idea what companies are doing with their data, up from 59% four years ago.  

Moreover, 81% are concerned about how companies use the data they collect on them, while 71% say the same about the government. 

But 79% say they have little or no control over what the government collects, versus 73% for companies. And 77% have little understanding of what the government collects.  

Yet for all that, 56% say they usually skip reading privacy policies and simply agree to them. And 22% sometimes do so. 

Of those familiar with AI, 81% say it will be used to collect and analyze personal information in ways they are not comfortable with, and 80% fear data will be used in ways that were not originally intended. 

On the other hand, 62% say AI could make people’s lives easier. 

Meanwhile, 78% trust themselves to make the right decisions about their personal information, with that percentage rising to 80% among people with college+. But 61% overall are skeptical that anything they do will make much difference, including 70% of the college+ cohort.  

Consumers are also flummoxed by passwords. They say they: 

• Feel overwhelmed by the amount of passwords they have to keep track of — 69%
• Generally create passwords that are easier to remember, even if they may be less secure — 46%
• Feel anxious about whether the passwords they use are strong and secure — 45% 

Few Americans trust social media executives — 77% have little or no faith in those leaders publicly admitting mistakes and taking responsibility for data misuse. And 71% doubt that government will hold tech leaders responsible.   

In one unnerving finding, 26% say someone has put fraudulent charges on their credit card in the prior 12 months.  

Roughly one-quarter of Americans (26%) say someone has put fraudulent charges on their debit or credit card in the last 12 months. And 11% have had their email or social media accounts hacked — a figure that rises to 20% among Black Americans. 

Pew surveyed 5,101 U.S. adults from May 15 to 21, 2023. The study was authored by Colleen McClain, Michelle Faverio, Monica Anderson and Eugenie Park.