CIS - Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas

• 60% acknowledge having “little or no” knowledge about security and protection of personal data on the Internet, according to the latest survey carried out by the CIS on 'Insecurity on the Internet'
• 75.3% are concerned that due to Artificial Intelligence “there will come a time when we will not be able to distinguish if what we see on the internet is real or not”
• 93% are in favor of prohibiting the use of mobile phones in primary schools and 69.8% believe that it should also be prohibited during the ESO stage

The CIS has carried out a survey on the insecurity generated by the Internet, minors' access to certain websites, Artificial Intelligence and other questions that have been asked among a sample over 16 years old.

Regarding internet insecurity, 47.4% of those surveyed have claimed to have suffered a scam or attempted scam in the last 12 months. Of this percentage, 84.2% claim to have “received suspicious emails or mobile messages requesting personal or financial information.”

Unauthorized access to personal information via the Internet is what most worries Spaniards (77.2%), while 76.8% say it is sexual crimes. For 76.1%, the most worrying thing is having their identity stolen and for 74.3% it is fraudulent links through mobile messages.

Regarding the security measures that Spaniards take to avoid these risks, 76.4% state that they only access pages that they trust, and 75.3% only make online purchases on websites that seem safe to them. Furthermore, 60% of Spaniards acknowledge having “little or no” knowledge about security and protection of personal data on the Internet, compared to 36.6% who say they have “a lot or quite a lot” of knowledge on this topic.

Among those who have been victims of an online scam, 55.5% say they have reported it to the relevant authorities, and it is young people between 25 and 34 years old who suffer the most from scams or attempted scams, 61.3%.

On a scale of 1 to 10, Spaniards who use the Internet say they feel quite concerned about the risks that the Internet entails today, with an average of 6.44.

The risks of Artificial Intelligence

80.4% of Spaniards believe that there are risks in the use of artificial intelligence, and 70.6% have indicated that they may be “very or quite serious” risks.

Not being able to distinguish whether what we see on the Internet is real or not “worries a lot or a lot” to 75.3% of citizens, and the fact that images can be manipulated to create false content worries 74.9%. Another concern expressed in the survey is that certain professions may disappear due to the use of artificial intelligence, which worries 63.1%.

Furthermore, 29.9% have been affected by false information on the internet in the last twelve months. Therefore, there is consensus on the need to “establish limitations on the spread of false information on the Internet” (92.5%).

Restricted use of mobile phones

93% of Spaniards are in favor of prohibiting the use of mobile phones in Primary Education (under 12 years of age) and 69.8% of doing so in the ESO stage (from 12 to 16 years of age).

Regarding the possibility of online sexual crimes occurring among minors, there is a consensus among those surveyed - 94% - are in favor of placing restrictions on Internet access.

Regarding the type of restrictions, 37.8% of those surveyed believe that it should be “the websites that restrict access to minors with adequate age verification systems”, 35% assure that the restriction should come from “a parental control to pages and applications” and 7.9% attribute it to “education to encourage responsible use of the Internet.”

Regarding who should establish these restrictions, 78.5% say that “fathers and mothers through mobile and computer controls”, 33.9% affirm that it should be the “government and authorities through laws”, 12.8% say that the owners of the websites and another 12.8% say that the educational centers.

36.2% believe that the greatest risk is in “access to pornography and violence”, 24.9% believe that being “the object of scams or financial deceptions” and 17.9% say that the most common risk is to suffer harassment (bullying, coercion or threats). “Receiving and sending sexual photos or videos” is also a big risk for 15.8%.

These and other data are found in the 'Insecurity on the Internet' study, which was carried out from February 13 to 20 and has a sample of 5,917 interviews.