Study: The Unease About Online Data Privacy
A new study by the Pew Research Center identifies concerns about how personal data is used online. 77% of respondents said they have little or no trust that leaders of social media companies would take responsibility for data misuse.
In a study of U.S. adults this year, Pew Research Center found that most people feel uneasy, or uninformed, about how their data is being used by online businesses.
67% of respondents said they understand little to nothing about how these companies are using their personal data. More worryingly, 73% said that they feel like they have little or no control over what companies do with this data as well.
Beyond not trusting social media CEOs in cases of data misuse, American adults are also pretty convinced that these tech leaders will sell their data without consent. And 71% have little to no trust that tech leaders will be held accountable by the government for any data abuses.
When you add AI to the equation, over half of Americans who have heard of the technology, believe that their data will help make AI devices more convenient for them.
But despite the greater convenience, 70% of adults have little to no trust that companies will make responsible decisions about how they use personal data in their AI products. Within this, 81% believe that data will be used in ways they’re not comfortable with.
But what’s next? A rethinking about online privacy is probably warranted. 78% of American adults trust themselves to make the right decision about their personal information, but 69% say that the act of agreeing to privacy policies is ‘just something to get past’.
