The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) recently found that 73% of online households have online privacy and security concerns, with 35% avoiding certain online activities.
The 2019 Internet Use Survey asked participants questions regarding their concerns over identity theft, data collection, credit card fraud and more, a Dec. 13 NTIA news release said.
“These digital privacy and security concerns also deterred millions of Americans from engaging in online activities at some point during the past year,” the release said. “Although fewer households refrained from conducting financial transactions online – decreasing six percentage points over the course of four years – we found small increases in Internet-using households avoiding buying goods or services online, posting on social networks, and expressing a controversial opinion online between 2017 and 2019 following significant declines from 2015.”
The percentage of households who have experienced security breaches has remained relatively steady since 2015, at about 19%, the release said.
“The explosion of the marketplace for Internet-based services and applications, as well as Americans’ growing engagement online, means it is more important than ever for policymakers to understand the digital landscape, to encourage the widespread deployment of encryption and other technologies to protect users, and to address structural disparities that persist in the digital economy,” the release said.
NTIA has been utilizing the survey since 2015 to gather data on internet users and their concerns, the release said.
