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.
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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.