{"id":15202,"date":"2019-05-30T14:14:31","date_gmt":"2019-05-30T14:14:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rsoftsolution.com\/blog\/uk-internet-attitudes-study-finds-public-support-for-social-media-regulation.html"},"modified":"2019-05-30T14:14:31","modified_gmt":"2019-05-30T14:14:31","slug":"uk-internet-attitudes-study-finds-public-support-for-social-media-regulation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rbsitsoftwaresolution.in\/blog\/uk-internet-attitudes-study-finds-public-support-for-social-media-regulation.html","title":{"rendered":"UK Internet attitudes study finds public support for social media regulation"},"content":{"rendered":"

UK telecoms regulator Ofcom <\/a> has published a new joint report and stat-fest on Internet attitudes and usage with the national data protection watchdog, the ICO \u2014 a quantitative study to be published annually which they\u2019re calling the Online Nation report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The new structure hints at the direction of travel for online regulation in the UK, following government plans set out in a recent whitepaper to regulate online harms<\/a> \u2014 which will include creating a new independent regulator to ensure Internet companies meet their responsibilities.<\/p>\n

Ministers are still consulting on whether this should be a new or existing body. But both Ofcom and the ICO have relevant interests in being involved \u2014 so it\u2019s fitting to see joint working going into this report.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/b>As most of us spend more time than ever online, we\u2019re increasingly worried about harmful content \u2014 and also more likely to come across it,\u201d writes Yih-Choung Teh, group director of strategy and research at Ofcom, in a statement. <\/span>\u201c For most people, those risks are still outweighed by the huge benefits of the internet. And while most internet users favour tighter rules in some areas, particularly social media, people also recognise the importance of protecting free speech \u2013 which is one of the internet\u2019s great strengths.\u201d<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s not yet clear exactly what form the UK\u2019s future Internet regulator will take, the Online Nation report does suggest a flavor of the planned focus.<\/p>\n

The report, which is based on responses from 2,057 adult internet users and 1,001 children, flags as a top-line finding that eight in ten adults have concerns about some aspects of Internet use and further suggests the proportion of adults concerned about going online has risen from 59% to 78% since last year (though its small-print notes this result is not directly <\/span> comparable with last year\u2019s survey so \u201ccan only be interpreted as indicative\u201d).<\/p>\n

Another stat being highlighted is a finding that 61% of adults have had a potentially harmful online experience in the past year \u2014 rising to 79% among children (aged 12-15). (Albeit with the caveat that it\u2019s using a \u201cbroad definition\u201d, with experiences ranging from \u201cmildly annoying to seriously harmful\u201d.)<\/p>\n

While a full 83% of polled adults are found to have expressed concern about harms to children on the Internet.<\/p>\n

The UK government, meanwhile, has made child safety a key focus of its push to regulate online content.<\/p>\n

At the same time the report found that most adults (59%) agree that the benefits of going online outweigh the risks, and 61% of children think the internet makes their lives better.<\/p>\n

While Ofcom\u2019s annual Internet reports of years past often had a fairly dry flavor, tracking usage such as time spent online on different devices and particular services, the new joint study puts more of an emphasis on attitudes to online content and how people understand (or don\u2019t) the commercial workings of the Internet \u2014 delving into more nuanced questions, such as by asking web users whether they understand how and why their data is collected, and assessing their understanding of ad-supported business models, as well as registering relative trust in different online services\u2019 use of personal data.<\/p>\n

The report also assesses public support for Internet regulation \u2014 and on that front it suggests there is increased support for greater online regulation in a range of areas. Specifically it found that most adults favour tighter rules for social media sites (70% in 2019, up from 52% in 2018); video-sharing sites (64% v. 46%); and instant-messaging services (61% v. 40%).<\/p>\n

At the same time it says nearly half (47%) of adult internet users expressed recognition that websites and social media platforms play an important role in supporting free speech \u2014 \u201ceven where some people might find content offensive\u201d. So the subtext there is that future regulation of harmful Internet content needs to strike the right balance.<\/p>\n

On managing personal data, the report found most Internet users (74%) say they feel confident to do so. A majority of UK adults are also happy for companies to collect their information under certain conditions \u2014 vs over a third (39%) saying they are not happy for companies to collect and use their personal information.<\/span><\/p>\n

Those conditions look to be key, though \u2014 with only small minorities reporting they are happy for their personal data to be used to program content (17% of adult Internet users were okay with this); and to target them with ads (only 18% didn\u2019t mind that, so most do).<\/p>\n

Trust in online services to protect user data and\/or use it responsibly also varies significantly, per the report findings \u2014 with social media definitely in the dog house on that front. \u201cAmong ten leading UK sites, trust among users of these services was highest for BBC News (67%) and Amazon <\/a> (66%) and lowest for Facebook <\/a> (31%) and YouTube (34%),\u201d the report notes.<\/p>\n

Despite low privacy trust in tech giants, more than a third (35%) of the total time spent online in the UK is on sites owned by Google <\/a> or Facebook.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis reflects the primacy of video and social media in people\u2019s online consumption, particularly on smartphones,\u201d it writes. \u201cAround nine in ten internet users visit YouTube every month, spending an average of 27 minutes a day on the site. A similar number visit Facebook, spending an average of 23 minutes a day there.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while the report records relatively high awareness that personal data collection is happening online \u2014 finding that 71% of adults were aware of cookies being used to collect information through websites they\u2019re browsing (falling to 60% for social media accounts; and 49% for smartphone apps) \u2014 most (69%) also reported accepting terms and conditions without reading them.<\/p>\n

So, again, mainstream public awareness of how personal data is being used looks questionable.<\/p>\n

The report also flags limited understanding of how search engines are funded \u2014 despite the bald fact that around half of UK online advertising revenue comes from paid-for search (\u00a36.7BN in 2018). <\/span>\u201c[T]here is still widespread lack of understanding about how search engines are funded,\u201d it writes. \u201cFifty-four per cent of adult internet users correctly said they are funded by advertising, with 18% giving an incorrect response and 28% saying they did not know.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The report also highlights the disconnect between time spent online and digital ad revenue generated by the adtech duopoly, Google and Facebook \u2014 which it says together generated an estimated 61% of UK online advertising revenue in 2018; a share of revenue that it points out is far greater than time spent (35%) on their websites (even as those websites are the most visited by adults in the UK).<\/p>\n

As in previous years of Ofcom \u2018state of the Internet\u2019 reports, the Online Nation study also found that Facebook use still dominates the social media landscape in the UK.<\/p>\n

Though use of the eponymous service continues falling (from 95% of social media users in 2016 to 88% in 2018)<\/span>. Even as use of other Facebook-owned social properties \u2014 Instagram and WhatsApp \u2014 grew over the same period.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nThe report also recorded an increase in people using multiple social services \u2014 with just a fifth of social media users only using Facebook in 2018 (down from 32% in 2018). <\/span>Though as noted above, Facebook still dominates time spent, clocking up<\/span> way more time (~23 minutes) per user per day on average <\/span>vs Snapchat (around nine minutes) and Instagram (five minutes).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A large majority (74%) of Facebook users also still check it at least once a day.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Overall, the report found that Brits have a varied online diet, though \u2014 on average spending a minute or more each day on 15 different internet sites and apps. Even as online ad revenues are not so equally distributed.<\/p>\n

\u201cSites and apps that were not among the top 40 sites ranked by time spent accounted for 43% of average daily consumption,\u201d the report notes. \u201cJust over one in five internet users said that in the past month they had used \u2018lots of websites or apps they\u2019ve used before\u2019 while a third (36%) said they \u2018only use websites or apps they\u2019ve used before\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is also variety when it comes to how Brits search for stuff online, and while 97% of adult internet users still use search engines the report found a variety of other services also in the mix.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It found that nearly two-thirds of people (65%) <\/span>go more often to specific sites to find specific things, such as a news site for news stories or a video site for videos; while 30% of respondents said they used to have a search engine as their home page but no longer do.<\/span><\/p>\n

The high proportion of searches being registered on shopping websites\/apps (61%) also looks interesting in light of the 2017 EU antitrust ruling against Google Shopping<\/a> \u2014 when the European Commission found Google had demoted rival shopping comparison services in search results, while promoting its own, thereby undermining rivals\u2019 ability to gain traffic and brand recognition.<\/p>\n

The report findings also indicate that use of voice-based search interfaces remains relatively low in the UK, with just 10% using voice assistants on a mobile phone \u2014 and even smaller percentages tapping into smart speakers (7%) or voice AIs on connected TVs (3%).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In another finding, the report suggests recommendation engines play a major part in content discovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cRecommendation engines are a key way for platforms to help people discover content and products \u2014 70% of viewing to YouTube is reportedly driven by recommendations, while 35% of what consumers purchase on Amazon comes from recommendations,\u201d it writes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In overarching aggregate, the report says UK adults now spend the equivalent of almost 50 days online per year.<\/p>\n

While, each week, 44 million Brits use the internet to send or receive email; 29 million send instant messages; 30 million bank or pay bills via the internet; 27 million shop online; and 21 million people download information for work, school or university.<\/p>\n

The full report can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Article source: http:\/\/feedproxy.google.com\/~r\/techcrunch\/social\/~3\/SxpX6sreLdM\/<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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