Data Management News

ANU study shows decrease in data trust towards organisations

Eliza Sayon Nov 12, 2021

2 min read

A new analysis, which was conducted by the Australian National University (ANU), has revealed that Australians are now less trusting of how governments and companies use their private data after two years of using check-in apps during the pandemic.

The study showed that the people’s trust in major institutions to maintain data privacy fell from an average of 5.70 to 5.49 out of 10 between May 2020 and August 2021.

The study’s co-author Professor Nicholas Biddle from the ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods said the decline was significant despite seeming small.

“This is especially the case as the pandemic, lockdowns and the use of apps for contact tracing continued, and even intensified in some cases,” he said.

“Our analysis, covering a time when much of the east coast of Australia was living in lockdown, shows Australians were starting to get warier about how their private data from check-in apps might be used by major institutions, including governments and corporations.”

According to the study, the organisations that had the biggest decrease in trust were the Federal, State and Territory governments, social media companies and e-commerce companies.

There was also an increase in concern about the overall security of personal data and information, going from 20.82 to 21.40 over the same period.

Although the trust in institutions to maintain data privacy has decreased, it is still higher than what it was before the pandemic.

The study, which also examined which Australians were most likely to use check-in apps, found that 88 per cent of Australians check-in via QR code always or most of the time. Vaccinated Australians were substantially more likely to use check-in apps.

Meanwhile, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, those who are born overseas in a non-English speaking country, with low levels of education and are living outside of the most advantaged areas were all less likely to use check-in apps.

“In another really fascinating finding, the majority of Australians who expressed low trust in how institutions use their data, 54.2 per cent, said they always use check-in apps,” Professor Biddle said.

“While this is quite a fair bit lower than those who have high trust in institutions, 68.5 per cent, it shows that despite their concerns, many Australians are doing the right thing and what they have been asked to do by governments to help keep each other and their communities safe during the pandemic.”

The study forms part of Australia’s largest and longest-running longitudinal study on the impact of the pandemic across the nation, which is led by the ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods.

Source: Australian National University Newsroom

Eliza Sayon

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Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.