Global survey shows shrinking trust in internet

An international survey has revealed that trust in the internet has dropped significantly since 2019.

An international survey has revealed that trust in the internet has dropped significantly since 2019.

Published Nov 28, 2022

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Cape Town - An international survey has revealed that trust in the internet has dropped significantly since 2019.

This is one of the key findings of a 20-country Ipsos survey released by The NEW INSTITUTE in Hamburg, Germany.

Only six in 10 (63%) internet users on average across the 20 countries included said they trust the internet. This is down 11 percentage points since a similar survey was conducted in 2019.

The singular exception is Japan, which showed a 7 percentage-point increase in trust.

The findings reveal that internet trust shrunk by double-digits in India (-10 points), Sweden (-10), Kenya (-11), the US (-12), Canada (-14), Brazil (-18) and Poland (-26).

Privacy was a major concern for those surveyed. Seventy-nine percent expressed worry about their online privacy.

Many felt that internet governance was lacking. Slightly more than half (57%) said the internet was effectively governed. But fewer than half in Great Britain (45%), the US (45%), France (41%) and Israel (34%) felt this way.

Only two African countries were included in the study – South Africa and Kenya. In Kenya seven in every 10 (70%) expressed trust in the internet.

South Africans expressed similar sentiments to the global community about their trust of the internet, with 63% agreeing that overall, they trust the internet.

In line with findings in other countries of shrinking trust in the internet, this showed a decline of 9 percentage points since 2019.

Only 47% of South Africans and 43% of Kenyans said overall, online security was sufficient.

Citizens’ concerns about online privacy ranked very high, with 93% in Kenya and 88% in South Africa voicing their concerns – considerably higher than the 79% overall country average.

Probing whether South Africans and Kenyans thought the internet was effectively governed, almost six in 10 in both countries – Kenya (59%) and South Africa (57%) – agreed.