1. Attitudes to Cybersafety and
Online Privacy in the Middle East
September 2014

2. Topicality

3. Are user concerns universal?
US data 2014
UK consumers
2013

4. World Economic Forum Report
• 5,400 adult Internet users
• 13 countries
“Findings from this study show that
a global Internet culture has
emerged as users across countries
often share similar viewpoints
and habits related to these vital
matters pertaining to the Internet.”

5. What we did - and how we did it

6. Areas of study
1. Usage of ICT and the Internet in the region
2. Attitudes towards the Internet
3. Concerns about safety in cyberspace
4. Trust in different online actors
5. Behaviors online

7. Methodology
• Online survey of existing Internet users.
• ictQATAR worked with the Oxford Internet Institute in
collaboration with Cornell University.
• Fieldwork by comScore and Toluna.

8. Countries covered
Algeria
Egypt
Morocco
Tunisia
Iraq Jordan
UAE
Yemen
Iran
Oman
Saudi Arabia
Qatar
Kuwait
Bahrain
MENA sample = 2,793
* Results from 14 countries

9. Research sample
• Global sample = 8,442
* Results from 44 countries
• Total Sample = 11,225
* Covers 58 countries

10. 5 KEY DIFFERENCES
MENA VS GLOBAL

11. MENA VS Global
1. MENA users are less likely to shop or bank online.
2. Higher perception in MENA that “the Internet is making
things better for people like me.” (49% vs. 39%)
3. Higher desire for Government role re harmful content.
4. Less worried about safety of personal online content.
5. Strongly against data repurposing.

12. 3 KEY DIFFERENCES
GCC VS NORTH AFRICA

13. GCC VS North Africa
1. GCC: more likely to access the Internet on the move.
2. GCC: greater access to technologies like tablets (70%
vs. 33%) and gaming machines (62% vs. 36%).
3. North Africa: stronger sense that personal data
put online is kept safe (22% vs. 15%).

14. 1. TECHNOLOGY AND THE INTERNET

15. MENA households full of technology

16. VoIP is highly prevalent
The region has some of the highest take-up of video and voice
calls over the Internet.

17. 2. ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE INTERNET

18. Generally, attitudes were…
• Positive: Belief that the Internet brings benefits to people.
• Safeness: Divided views on how safe the Internet is.
• Government: Higher demand for Government to regulate,
censor and protect Internet users from harmful content.

19. Higher belief in MENA that the
Internet is “making things better”

20. Harmful content: Protecting Children

21. “Discriminatory” or “Racist” content

22. 3. LEVELS OF CONCERN

23. Areas of concern
High concerns about:
• Being Hacked
• Misled by false information
• Reputation damage
Lower concerns about:
• Being monitored online
• Data collection

24. Concerns around data repurposing

25. 4. TRUST IN ONLINE PLAYERS

26. Trust in Different Online Players
Higher trust in…
Entities who are “offline first”
• Mobile and telephone providers
• Government authorities
• Banks and financial institutions
• Health and medical providers
Lower trust in…
Entities that are “online first”
• Social networking websites
• Online search engines
• Online websites and newspapers
• Online marketers and advertisers

27. Trust Index

28. 5. BEHAVIOR

29. Inconsistency in claimed
behaviors and actions
SAY
they are safety-conscious
ACT
safety-conscious
Behaviors and Attitudes are not always aligned.
Examples of potentially reckless behavior in MENA:
• More likely: to open attachments from people they don’t know.
• Less likely: to scan their computers/devices for viruses.
• More likely: to “Friend” people they don’t know .

30. Research takeaways

31. Recap: 5 top-level MENA findings
1. Broad equivalency - access to technology compared to global averages.
2. MENA Internet users more likely to agree that “the Internet is making
things better for people like me” compared to the world average.
3. They are also more supportive of the idea that Government
authorities should block harmful content than users elsewhere.
4. Amongst different online players; banks and financial institutions in
the region enjoy the highest levels of trust.
5. MENA Internet users are among the most likely to open attachments,
documents and emails from senders they do not know.

32. What happens next?

33. These issues are not going to go away…

34. New tech = new challenges

35. 7 out of 10 fear security
implications of Internet of Things
2014 study of 1,800 consumers between the ages of 20 and 50
who claim to be tech savvy in 11 countries, including the United States,
Australia, China, Germany, India, and the United Kingdom.

36. Wearable Tech

37. Drones

40. Privacy entrepreneurship:
Sell personal data for $8 a month
Some start-ups allow you to sell your data
and they then sell it on to companies.

41. New solutions to aid privacy
Blackphone: Encrypted
telephony and messaging,
protected contact info, data
storage encryption option.
Confide:
Chat app
allows self-destructive
messages and
screenshot
protection.

42. Taking matters into your own hands

43. Some ways we highlight issues
Safespace.qa
Training
Workshops

44. Ongoing Rassed research projects
Stay tuned…
– How Children in Qatar use ICT
– Understanding emerging social media platforms
– Exploring online shopping usage in Qatar

45. Thank you for listening
QUESTIONS?
Get your copies!
Email: rassed@ict.gov.qa