Sixty-four percent of respondents believe the authorities "should do more" to regulate how internet companies handle privacy issues, while 35% think it should not get more involved. This is a significant change compared with a 2012 Pew Research Center poll which found that only 38% said they want to see more government action on the matter, with a whopping 56% opposing that view.
Only every fifth American expressed trust in Facebook, and 72% said they do not trust the social network.
According to the survey, only Amazon has a positive balance of trust among users (53%), but all other internet giants, including Apple, Microsoft, Google, TikTok, WhatsApp and Instagram, face a lack of confidence when it comes to responsibly handling users’ personal information and data.
The poll was conducted from November 4-22 among a random national sample of 1,122 adults, including 1,058 internet users.