Global survey shows shrinking trust in internet

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.