Internet privacy concerns and beliefs about government surveillance – An empirical investigation

This U.S.-based research attempts to understand the relationships between users’ perceptions about Internet privacy concerns, the need for government surveillance, government intrusion concerns, and the willingness to disclose personal information required to complete online transactions. We test a theoretical model based on a privacy calculus framework and Asymmetric Information Theory using data collected from 422 respondents. Using LISREL, we found that privacy concerns have an important influence on the willingness to disclose personal information required to transact online. The perceived need for government surveillance was negatively related to privacy concerns and positively related to willingness to disclose personal information. On the other hand, concerns about government intrusion were positively related to privacy concerns. The theoretical framework of our study can be applied across other countries.