It Seems Governments All Over Need To Work Harder To Have Us Trust Them With Our Personal Information.

This appeared last week.

70 per cent don’t trust govt on personal data

29 June, 2020

Seventy per cent of Australians have limited or no trust in the government to safely handle their personal data.

An international survey has found Australians are highly distrustful of government surveillance and data collection, especially in relation to COVID-19.

Cloud software vendor Okta commissioned an online survey of over 12,000 people between the ages of 18 and 75 in Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, and the US.

It found seventy per cent of Australians were uncomfortable with the government handling their data, and it also found Aussies are “shockingly unaware” of how much their data is collected.

“From Cambridge Analytica to the news that Australia’s My Health Record has suffered two potential data breaches, a never-ending list of controversies have shed a light on consumers’ shrinking levels of privacy,” the report, The Cost of Privacy, says.

“Yet our data shows that many consumers are not aware of the routine tracking and data harvesting that takes place daily.”

But it also found that Australia isn’t alone and distrust in government is high around the world, although social media companies ranked lowest in the trust stakes.

Trust in the age of coronavirus

When it came to the Coronavirus pandemic, a third of Australians said they felt less comfortable with the idea of data tracking if the government was involved.

However concern was higher among Americans, with 45 per cent of US respondents expressing similar concerns.

Almost 80 per cent of Australians believe personal data collected for COVID-19 will be used for more than the stated public health purpose, with 63 per cent worried it will be accessed for law enforcement purposes.

“Australians show widespread discomfort with the idea of their data being collected to aid the containment of COVID-19,” the report says.

Aussies were slightly more comfortable with medical data being collected for this purpose.

“While the public health benefits of collecting data to track the spread of COVID-19 are clear, consumers in every country surveyed are worried about privacy,” the report concludes.

Across Australia, the UK, the US and Germany respondents report significantly higher trust in their workplace to handle their personal data than the government.

More here:

https://www.governmentnews.com.au/70-per-cent-dont-trust-government-on-personal-data/

I have to say the ADHA have a difficult gig here with their total lack of openness and transparency to convince pretty much anyone that they will treat your information with honesty and transparency and not cause you any surprises!

Maybe offering more honest and better explained usage statistics for the system could be a good start?

Actually explaining in lay terms what the data breaches were really all about might also be helpful.

The ADHA could also publish proper Board Minutes – but I suspect hell will freeze over first!

David.