Culture, identity and information privacy in the age of digital government

an article by Rowena Cullen published in Online Information Review Volume 33 Issue 3 (2009)

Abstract

Purpose
The emergence of digital government and the requirement for citizens to exchange information with government online have raised a number of issues related to personal information held by government. These include questions about the confidence of citizens concerning the security and privacy of information they provide to government, on- or offline, and whether different cultural attitudes to issues such as personal identity might impact on citizens’ attitudes towards privacy. This paper aims to investigate these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reports and comments on the experiences and concerns of citizens in both New Zealand and Japan, based on focus groups and interviews. The New Zealand research included indigenous Maori, immigrant Pacific Islands groups and other ethnic communities.
Findings
Although all groups had concerns about information privacy, the nature of these concerns varied among the different groups interviewed and among individuals. Explanations of the attitudes and perceptions made in each group reflect cultural values and concepts of personal identity, and illustrate the importance of being aware of the differences between individualist and collectivist cultures.
Research limitations/implications
The research was based on a number of small studies, with limited numbers of participants. The findings would be strengthened by expanding the research to include larger numbers of participants.
Originality/value
The findings are significant to the development of policies for securing the confidentiality of citizens in the way government handles personal information in the online environment and in the ways in which these policies are communicated to citizens.

Hazel’s comment:
Before reading about this study I thought that everyone would be wary of central government organisations holding personal information and this is, to an extent, true but the level of wariness (not sure about that as a phrase but I’m sure you understand) varies quite considerably across different cultures.

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