Most Americans don’t believe their personal information is secure online and aren’t satisfied with the federal government’s efforts to protect it, according to a poll.
The poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and MeriTalk shows that 64% of Americans say their social media activity is not very or not at all secure. About as many have the same security doubts about online information revealing their physical location. Half of Americans believe their private text conversations lack security.
And they’re not just concerned. They want something done about it. Nearly three-quarters of Americans say they support establishing national standards for how companies can collect, process and share personal data.
About half of those who used federal government websites such as the Census Bureau, the IRS, or the CDC to look up information say the websites were informative and easy to use.
68% want the federal government to prioritize improving health care and 61% want it to devote a good deal of time to data security and privacy.
7 in 10 support the federal government treating personal data security as a national security issue and investing in cyber security.
8 in 10 say the government has been at least somewhat effective at connecting citizens to needed services like unemployment and food assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Just 1 in 4 express pride in the way democracy works in the United States. One in 5 are proud of the country’s political influence in the world.
Just 1 in 5 say the federal government is very or extremely effective at adapting to the digital world.
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area.
He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
