The privacy of users on the internet has been the kind of thing that many tech companies have positively fallen over themselves trying to provide because of the fact that this is the sort of aspect that could potentially end up making users feel like they can trust said companies and take advantage of the various products and services that these companies might be attempting to offer at any given point in time.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that in 2020, a year where pretty much every single thing that we thought we knew about the world around us has been turned around on its head, has changed how people might think about internet privacy. Whereas previously it used to be perhaps the single biggest issue that would ever end up on people’s minds at any given point in time, now it has started to become a practice that people seem to be worried about a lot less often according to a number of studies that have been conducted as well as the data that these studies have come up with.
Accoring to a recent GlobalWebIndex study, China has seen an 8% reduction in public concerns about internet privacy. This might have something to do with how data sharing helped the Chinese government to develop a much more proactive and efficient response to the coronavirus pandemic, something without which the entire economy might have been devastated. However, Chinese people’s decrease in their desire for internet privacy is not the highest reduction seen in the world. That dubious honor belongs to Sweden, where negative public opinions surrounding internet privacy concerns ended up being about 12% lower than they were at this point last year.
In fact, much of Europe seems to be following this trend. The number of people saying that they were concerned about internet privacy and the like has decreased by 9% in Switzerland, 7% in Austria and 4% in Italy so this is definitely a trend that is starting to gain a lot more traction in this modern day and age. 8% fewer Argentinians seem to be worried about internet privacy as well.
One of the most common ways in which your data can be used for the common good is through contact tracing. This can help people figure out where the source of a spreading virus outbreak could be located, and it can help a lot when it comes to reducing the impact of said virus. About 30% of global consumers said that they trust future technological solutions to help improve their health and safeguard their wellbeing to a certain extent, and 35% of those generally had very strong opinions about user privacy and the like.
So now the question that needs to be asked is this: what does all of this say about the way the internet works as well as the manner in which user privacy tends to be approached in the first place? Some might say that this indicates that internet privacy really isn’t all that big of a priority for users, or that it is going to stop mattering once various users realize the numerous benefits that can come with letting go of just a little bit of the privacy that they currently possess. Others might argue that this is just a temporary drop and that internet privacy is always going to be the most important attitude for people and that as they start to get more and more educated about the facts about this issue. Or this could be an inevitable trend that is being represented in legislation all across the world, something that does not bode well for the safety of people on the internet and how their personal information might be used
Read next: Study Reveals The Countries Affected Most By Data Theft
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that in 2020, a year where pretty much every single thing that we thought we knew about the world around us has been turned around on its head, has changed how people might think about internet privacy. Whereas previously it used to be perhaps the single biggest issue that would ever end up on people’s minds at any given point in time, now it has started to become a practice that people seem to be worried about a lot less often according to a number of studies that have been conducted as well as the data that these studies have come up with.
Accoring to a recent GlobalWebIndex study, China has seen an 8% reduction in public concerns about internet privacy. This might have something to do with how data sharing helped the Chinese government to develop a much more proactive and efficient response to the coronavirus pandemic, something without which the entire economy might have been devastated. However, Chinese people’s decrease in their desire for internet privacy is not the highest reduction seen in the world. That dubious honor belongs to Sweden, where negative public opinions surrounding internet privacy concerns ended up being about 12% lower than they were at this point last year.
In fact, much of Europe seems to be following this trend. The number of people saying that they were concerned about internet privacy and the like has decreased by 9% in Switzerland, 7% in Austria and 4% in Italy so this is definitely a trend that is starting to gain a lot more traction in this modern day and age. 8% fewer Argentinians seem to be worried about internet privacy as well.
One of the most common ways in which your data can be used for the common good is through contact tracing. This can help people figure out where the source of a spreading virus outbreak could be located, and it can help a lot when it comes to reducing the impact of said virus. About 30% of global consumers said that they trust future technological solutions to help improve their health and safeguard their wellbeing to a certain extent, and 35% of those generally had very strong opinions about user privacy and the like.
So now the question that needs to be asked is this: what does all of this say about the way the internet works as well as the manner in which user privacy tends to be approached in the first place? Some might say that this indicates that internet privacy really isn’t all that big of a priority for users, or that it is going to stop mattering once various users realize the numerous benefits that can come with letting go of just a little bit of the privacy that they currently possess. Others might argue that this is just a temporary drop and that internet privacy is always going to be the most important attitude for people and that as they start to get more and more educated about the facts about this issue. Or this could be an inevitable trend that is being represented in legislation all across the world, something that does not bode well for the safety of people on the internet and how their personal information might be used
Read next: Study Reveals The Countries Affected Most By Data Theft
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