Nothing to Hide, Nothing to Lose?: Incentives and Disincentives for Sharing Information With Institutions Online

• In Event: Trust and Tradeoffs for Online Privacy

Abstract

What incentives and disincentives do Internet users weigh as they consider providing information to institutional actors such as government agencies and corporations online? Drawing on focus group interviews, we find that people see many benefits to sharing information online, but also recognize that not all sharing may be in their interest. Disincentives to sharing include skepticism, distrust, and fears of discrimination and online harassment. Decisions about sharing are related to the information type, the context in which information is revealed, and the institution to which they are – or think they are – providing information. Significantly, many participants were mistrustful of both governmental and corporate actors. Participants displayed both awareness of privacy risks and resignation towards privacy violations, suggesting that they perceived little control over their ability to protect their privacy, which may influence their privacy behaviors.

Authors

• Alice Marwick, Data & Society

• Eszter Hargittai, U. Zurich