Computerworld reports on a new study on the level of confidence Americans have that government agencies are committed to privacy protection. The survey reports on 57 federal agencies that routinely collect and use personal information – like the Social Security Administration and the IRS. Because the survey measures the perceptions of the respondents, the results are no doubt influenced by events in the news, the bias of the respondents and other factors mentioned in the survey methodology’s long caveat section. One caveat worth mentioning is that the survey originally started with a list of 74 agencies, but by the time the final survey went out, 13 agencies were excluded because not enough respondents were familiar with those agencies. Among those agencies tossed off the original list were GSA, GAO, FAA, OPM, NIST and USDA. I think that tells you pretty much all you need to know about the sample.
It will come as no surprise to hear that Americans are least confident about Homeland Security’s commitment to privacy protection. Other agencies at the bottom of the list are the Transportation Security Administration, CIA, Justice Department and the Attorney General’s Office.
Oddly enough, the agency most trusted by Americans is the Postal Service – for the second year in a row. I’m thinking USPS got this top rating because its letter carriers have had access to our secrets for 200 years and haven’t spilled the beans. Americans probably don’t realize that their letter carrier knows if they pay their bills on time, where they work, what political party they belong to, where they have their retirement money invested and whether they’re into sports, cooking, motorcycles, folk music or skimpy underthings. The Postal Service probably knows more about you than your mother does. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Postal Service – postage is a bargain and delivery is reliable -- but I realize I have few secrets from our letter carrier.
To post a comment, you must be a registered user of FCW.com and be logged in. Use one of the forms below to login or register for FREE to FCW.com. To protect your privacy, you can use an alias as your username.
