A major survey conducted by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has revealed 48% of Australians believe online services, including social media, to be the greatest risk to their privacy.
The Community Attitudes to Privacy survey showed that Australians of all ages do care about improper information sharing, collection and processing by businesses and government agencies.
The survey of 1000 Australians found just 9% of respondents considered social media websites to be trustworthy when it came to protecting their privacy.
The survey also found that 96% of participants expect to be informed if their information is lost by a government agency or public company, while 95% of respondents wanted to be made aware how of their information is handled on a day-to-day basis.
Over half of Australians surveyed refused to engage with companies or organsations over how their personal information had been or may be used.
“With a significant number of people saying that they have decided not to deal with an organisation due to privacy concerns, I suggest that business needs to listen to this and consider improving their practices,” said Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim in a statement.
"Businesses must ensure that privacy is built in to systems and processes right from the beginning," he added.
