Social media alarms a majority of Aussies

More than one in two Australians has high levels of concern about fake news and disinformation being spread on social media.

More than one in two Australians has high levels of concern about fake news and disinformation being spread on social media, with 58 per cent worried that their ­personal information could be hacked or misused on digital platforms.

A JWS Research poll testing consumers’ attitudes to digital media and advertising revealed 74 per cent of Australians want Facebook, Instagram, Google and YouTube to ask for permission before sharing their private information.

With the Morrison government moving to legislate powers forcing Google and Facebook to pay for news content and share data collection methods, the survey showed 67 per cent of Australians wanted online search engines to seek approval when disseminating their consumer behaviour to third parties.

The poll of 1000 Australians aged over 18, was commissioned by digital advertising firm The Trade Desk to assess sentiment about tactics used by tech companies and the government’s world-first news bargaining code.

It showed Australian aged over 54 were increasingly anxious about the use of personal information by digital platforms, amid a wave of cyber attacks and scams during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australian Cyber Security Forum director Sorin Toma said social media users must be aware that tech companies such as Facebook “want you to broadcast your likes and dislikes, your personal preferences, your political affiliation and even your favourite colour across their platform”.

Mr Toma, the principal consultant for cyber security firm Xpotentia, said the business models of tech companies was to ­attract users, analyse their data and use personal information as targets for advertisers. “The more personal data they have access to, the more advertising dollars they can attract,” he said.

The cyber security expert said the Australian Institute of Criminology noted the annual economic impact of identity crime exceeded $2bn.

“When this information is passed on to mega international online stores like Amazon, it has potential to provide hackers with a virtual ‘one-stop shop’ for potential targets who dump critical private information in one place as they shop,” he said.

The Trade Desk Australia-New Zealand general manager James Bayes said “information has become an increasingly important form of currency”.

“Since the pandemic has forced more people to work from home, we’re seeing people quite concerned about the security of their personal and business data and how it’s used,” he said.

The Australian last week revealed growing concerns over an industry-led voluntary code on disinformation being overseen by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

DIGI — the Australian lobby group representing tech companies that has been tasked with developing the code — was accused by Reset Australia of putting forward a model with “no teeth and no transparency”.