Guardian Essential poll: one in two Australians want stronger privacy laws after Optus breach

Australians are very concerned about the risks of scammers gaining access to their personal information, and a majority of Guardian Essential poll respondents would support more restrictions on the amount of information companies can collect.

The new Guardian Essential poll indicates that only a small number of respondents, 21% of the sample, had been directly affected by the Optus breach, although 16% of poll participants were unsure whether or not they had been affected.

But the new data suggests Australians are worried about their privacy online. The poll finds 51% of people would support stronger curbs on the amount of information private companies can collect about consumers, while 47% are worried about governments collecting their personal information.

A number of respondents (41% in both cases) would also support tougher restrictions on the use of facial-recognition technology to predict behaviour and limit the decisions that can be made about consumers by artificial intelligence.

Participants were asked to express views about online privacy regardless of whether or not they had been personally affected by the Optus breach.

Significant majorities of respondents were concerned that scammers could steal their identity to set up a bank account (85% of poll participants) or steal their identity to access their social media accounts (76%). People are also concerned about scammers sending fraudulent emails and text messages (78%).

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has also fired a broadside at the company, characterising the incident as unacceptable.