OIAC poll finds Facebook-loving Aussies concerned about privacy

A study by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OIAC) has found 97 percent of the 1000 users polled considered that it is a misuse of their information when organisations collect it for one purpose and use it for another.

A third of the adults surveyed in the McAfee and Commonwealth Bank -sponsored research said they took issue with the way their information was handled in the last year.

Three quarters of those polled felt "uncomfortable" about organisations capturing their online activity and slightly more considered having their personal information shipped offshore to be a misuse of their data.

However Australians did not shy from offering their personal information and copping a barrage of targeted advertising in exchange for free services. In August, Facebook claimed some 9 million Australians visited Facebook daily.

But in May this year, research by SocialBakers found 6 million fewer US visitors checked into Facebook while 1.4 million less UK users checked in. Over the six months to April, the social networking giant lost 9 million and 2 million users respectively each month to what the analyst firm said was competition from rival free social networking sites.

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