Chinese youth have more trust in tech sector but support tighter regulation, survey shows
- Chinese respondents were the most worried about misuse of personal data, with 83 per cent concerned about data privacy, compared with 64 per cent in the US
- More than 72 per cent of young Chinese think tech should be subject to more regulation, and 49 per cent support moves to reduce the size of tech firms
The technology industry enjoys a rosier reputation among youth in China, but they are more supportive of government regulation on the tech sector, a private survey showed.
Chinese youth have more trust in the tech sector, with nine out of 10 believing tech is a source for good, compared with 44 per cent in the US, 50 per cent in the UK, and 45 per cent in Germany, according to the poll by public affairs consultancy Finsbury Glover Hering.
The poll covered a total of 2,400 young people in the millennial and Gen Z age groups – those born from 1981-1996 and after the mid-90s respectively, across the US, China – UK and Germany.
However, Chinese respondents were the most worried about their personal data being misappropriated by tech companies, with 83 per cent concerned about their data privacy, compared with 64 per cent in the US, 56 per cent in the UK, and 53 per cent in Germany.
Surprisingly, 32 per cent of respondents in China think they benefit from data collection, whereas less than one-in-five young people in Western markets feel they benefit a great deal from the prevalent practice among tech companies.
“Our research shows that China’s young generation is particularly concerned that companies are tracking their activity and mining their data,” Ginny Wilmerding, a partner covering Asia at Finsbury Glover Hering, said in the report.
The report also found that more young Chinese believe that artificial intelligence can solve societal problems and that more regulations are needed for taming tech companies.