6. Conclusion

The results of the study show that the population as a whole predominantly associates the Internet with a range of advantages, though they also consider it to pose a number of risks at the same time. For the most part, the perceived risks associated with the Internet are only tied in with negative personal experiences to a limited extent and by and large do not depend on the extent of personal use. People who use the Internet several times per day and for a comparatively wide range of applications are generally less worried (or not more worried) about these risks than those who use the Internet only rarely or who only make use of relatively few websites that they are already familiar with.

The vast majority of the population, and in particular the Internet users, believe that in general, people exercise insufficient care when handling personal data, which in turn comes with the risk that large numbers of people will reveal too much about themselves online. However, only very few people believe that this actually refers to them personally.

Asked to provide a self-assessment, the majority of Internet users are largely confident of their ability to judge the dangers and risks associated with the Internet. However, considerable uncertainty persists in many areas. This uncertainty is keenest in relation to the storage and use of personal data. Internet users predominantly rely on technical solutions such as anti-virus software to protect themselves from potential dangers and risks, and many users also avoid particular online activities. These include opening e-mail attachments from unknown senders and accessing suspicious-looking websites.

Citizens also believe that the state has a duty to protect people from dangers and risks associated with the Internet. According to the opinion of the majority of the population, it is the duty of the state to impose certain regulations for website providers and to ensure that they are upheld. Having said that, there is also a broad consensus that national measures and regulations alone cannot provide effective protection for Internet users.

There is a high degree of uncertainty in terms of the extent of current state influence or control. The general tendency is towards believing there is too little state influence or control; the demand for more stringent controls increases as users‘ experience or intensity of use decreases.

Around half of the population take a dim view to excessive control by the state, asserting that state monitoring could potentially endanger freedom on the Internet. Among those surveyed, companies that no longer display the entire content, instead increasingly showing only the content that is tailored to the user’s specific profile, are considered an even greater threat to freedom on the Internet.

In conclusion, it remains clear that people believe the advantages of the Internet outweigh the associated risks. However, due to the complexity of the Internet and the variety of associated risks, they also seek guardrails in the digital environment.