Broadband Subsidies Important But More Data Needed to Inform FCC Policy Decisions

[Commentary] My colleague Ashley Walker and I have found that people who are more concerned about privacy are less likely to be Internet users based on data from the Federal Communications Commission’s 2009 national survey of Americans’ Internet uses. While plenty of prior work has considered demographic and socioeconomic factors in who goes online, this important factor has not been included in existing studies of Internet diffusion. It turns out, perhaps not surprisingly, that those who are more concerned about their personal information being stolen online are significantly less like to be Internet users. But FCC should spend some of its resources collecting high-quality data about Americans’ Internet uses regularly, data that go beyond basic access statistics. Without such data, it is hard to devise sound policies. Gathering nationally-representative detailed data of Americans’ attitudes about and experiences with the Internet is not cheap. But any related costs are a drop in the bucket compared to the $2 billion dollars the FCC will spend on its Lifeline program.

[Hargittai is Delaney Family Professor, Communication Studies Department, Northwestern University]