Majority of Americans support national data privacy standards: poll

Nearly three-quarters of Americans want the federal government to establish national data privacy standards, according to a poll released Thursday.

The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and MeriTalk survey also found that upward of 60 percent of Americans believe their social media activity and physical location information is not secure online.

Lawmakers in Washington have yet to pass a digital privacy bill through Congress, and this delay may have soured Americans’ belief in the ability of the government to protect their data.

Fifty-six percent of respondents said they trust the private sector to do a better job at improving online data privacy and security than the federal government.

Only 23 percent of Americans surveyed said they were very or somewhat satisfied with the federal government’s current efforts to protect their privacy and personal data online.

AP-NORC polled 1,004 adults June 24-28 using NORC’s Ameri-Speak panel, which is designed to represent the population as a whole. The margin of error for the sample is 4.3 percentage points.

Congressional lawmakers have sought to pass data privacy legislation for years, but disagreements over the role of individuals to enforce provisions and interaction with state bills has prevented bipartisan consensus.

In the interim, California, Virginia and Colorado have passed their own consumer data privacy bills.

Industry groups have expressed fear of a scenario with a patchwork of state data rules and have redoubled efforts to push a bill through this Congress.