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Executive Summary
The 1994 survey documents the American public's privacy concerns
and attitudes toward technology, business and government.
Concerns over technology and lack of faith in the government increase,
while attitudes toward business remain positive.
The American public favors having a national work identification card
for citizens and non-citizens.
With certain safeguards, almost 8 of 10 Americans would be willing to
have a national ID number assigned to them.
A large majority of Americans believe that an applicant's credit history
is a fair criterion for auto insurance underwriters to use.
The points contained in this summary highlight the major findings of
the 1994 survey. Additional information and commentary can be found in
the body of the report.
Major Findings Of The Survey
- At 84%, a record number of Americans are either very or somewhat
concerned about threats to their personal privacy. This figure is the highest
recorded since the question was first asked in 1978.
The percentage of Americans who say they are "very" concerned
about threats to their personal privacy has reached 51% and represents
a 20% increase since 1978.
- Concern over technology and lack of faith in the government increase,
while attitudes toward business remain positive.
Nearly half of the American public (46%) agree that "the
way one votes has no effect on what the government does," more than
half (53%) agree that "technology has almost gotten out of
control," and 80% disagree that "government can generally
be trusted to look after our interests." Each of these figures represents
an increase since 1978.
In contrast to these signs of disillusionment, most Americans (76%)
agree that "business helps us more than it harms us."
- Among a list of 13 groups and organizations, doctors and nurses
rank first in terms of the percentage of Americans who are "very"
confident (43%) that this group properly handles personal and confidential
information.
In contrast, companies that offer products or services through the
mail or via the telephone ranked last. Only 5% and 4%, respectively,
are "very" confident that these groups handle personal information
properly.
- Although only 7% of the American public say that their Social Security
number has been used in ways that embarrassed or harmed them, 60% are concerned
that "some person or organization might do this today"
(31% "very" concerned).
The majority of past victims of Social Security number misuse (42%)
indicate that the type of harm or embarrassment they experienced was credit-related
(e.g., "used by someone else to charge things to credit card"
19%; "number mistakenly entered into computer, caused credit problems"
12%).
- The majority of those surveyed (60%) are at least somewhat accepting
of a national computer file of the names and Social Security numbers of
all citizens and aliens authorized to work in the United States.
More than one third (37%) of those who initially found the national
computer file proposal not acceptable said that they would change their
view if a federal law restricted access to this file solely for immigration
control and employment verification. This brings to 75% the extent of the
acceptance of a national computer file.
- More than half (53%) of the American public favor "the government
requiring a National Work Identification Card for all working Americans,
both citizens and non-citizens." This represents an increase of ten
percentage points since 1990.
If the federal law made it illegal for any government agency
or private organization to require this card for purposes other than verifying
a person's eligibility for work or their status as a legal resident, 25%
of those initially opposed would change their view. This increases the
total of those who would favor a National ID Card to 64%.
- After hearing reasons why any national health care insurance program
would need a health identification system, 60% of those surveyed said that
they would be at least somewhat willing to have an ID number assigned to
them.
Nearly one third (31%) of those initially unwilling to have a number
assigned to them, said that they would change their view if a federal law
provided criminal penalties for any misuse of this number. Of the 267 respondents
still unconvinced even with criminal penalties as a safeguard, slightly
more than one quarter (26%) would change their view if a federal law gave
people the specific right to sue any organization or person for
damages if they used the ID number improperly.
Therefore, with these two safeguards in place, 79% of Americans would
be willing to have a national ID number assigned to them.
- If Congress and the President decided that some kind of national
identifier is needed to administer a health care insurance system, two
thirds (66%) would find their present social security number acceptable
(34% "very" acceptable), 62% would find a unique physical identifier
acceptable (32% "very" acceptable), while 57% would find a new
national health number acceptable (22% "very" acceptable).
- After hearing a description about how medical records are used by
medical researchers to study the causes of disease, 41% of those surveyed
said that they would find it at least somewhat acceptable if their records
were used for such research.
If a federal law made it illegal for any medical researcher to disclose
the identity or any identifiable details of a person whose health records
had been used, 28% of those who were initially opposed to having their
records used would change their position, increasing the acceptance of
this practice to over half of those surveyed (58%).
- When asked about the information that should be considered when
auto insurance companies decide to issue auto insurance policies, the American
public distinguishes clearly between information that is relevant and that
which is not. Among a list of 14 items that auto insurance companies might
consider in their decision to issue auto insurance policies, 89% of those
surveyed feel it is fair to consider past convictions for driving while
intoxicated, 88% feel it is fair to consider serious accidents, and 63%
feel it is fair to consider listing of paying bills.
In contrast, less than one in ten feel it "very" fair to consider
the applicant's marital status (9%), whether the applicant smokes tobacco
products (9%), whether the applicant served in the military (9%), educational
background (8%), and race or nationality (4%) when decisions about auto
insurance policies are being made.
- Nearly nine in ten (89%) of those surveyed think that an auto insurance
applicant's record of driving offenses should be collected and verified
so that applicants who are good drivers pay lower premiums, and 69% think
that an applicant's record of paying bills should be collected and
verified so that good credit risks pay lower premiums.
Nearly half (47%) of those who were initially opposed to collecting
information on driving offenses and/or paying bills said they would change
their position if all applicants denied insurance or charged a higher rate
because of their record on driving or paying bills could examine at no
cost the information collected about them and could challenge anything
that was not correct.
- Fifteen percent of Americans have had their utility service disconnected
because they failed to pay their bills when due.
Nearly nine in ten (89%) of Americans feel that it is acceptable for
utility companies to "collect past, overdue utility bills from the
applicant" when a consumer applies for service (52% "very"
acceptable). A majority (62%) feel it is acceptable to "inform other
utilities to which an applicant applies of the applicant's failure to pay
overdue utility bills" (26% "very" acceptable).
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