Report: Consumers say tech companies can do better on privacy and more

The communications landscape is becoming ever more digital—and rife with potential pitfalls.

A recent FleishmanHillard report about reputation management and technology highlights the struggle to maintain consumers’ trust amid data breaches, privacy concerns on social media platforms, and increased hate speech online.

FleishmanHillard reported that though 82% of consumers in the United States generally trust technology companies, younger consumers are growing increasingly more skeptical: More than a quarter (26%) of Gen Z and 22% of millennials said they have less trust in these companies.

Called “techlash,” this scrutiny and criticism has thrust several social media platforms and other tech companies, such as Uber, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google in the spotlight. Headlines have also circulated questioning how much these companies are regulated.

Though almost 60% of consumers in the United Kingdom think that technology companies are currently regulated the right amount, just over half of U.S. consumers (54%) believe the same about tech companies in the U.S., with 31% saying they should have more regulations.