Privacy Preservation Instruments Influencing the Trustworthiness of e-Government Services

Hilal Alabdali,Abdullah Alhamadani,Mohamed Sarrab,Mohammed Albadawi

doi:10.3390/computers10090114

Abstract

Trust is one of the most critical factors that determine willingness to use e-government services. Despite its significance, most previous studies investigated the factors that lead to trusting such services in theoretical aspects without examining the technical solutions. Therefore, more effort is needed to preserve privacy in the current debate on trust within integrated e-government services. Specifically, this study aims to develop a model that examines instruments extracted from privacy by design principles that could protect personal information from misuse by the e-government employee, influencing the trust to use e-government services. This study was conducted with 420 respondents from Oman who were familiar with using e-government services. The results show that different factors influencing service trust, including the need for privacy lifecycle protection, privacy controls, impact assessments, and personal information monitors. The findings reveal that the impeding factors of trust are organizational barriers and lack of support. Finally, this study assists e-government initiatives and decision-makers to increase the use of services by facilitating privacy preservation instruments in the design of e-government services.

Highlights

IntroductionThe demand for e-government services has increased [1], and business needs require more personal information [2]
This study aims to develop a model for evaluating preventive monitor, privacy control, lifecycle protection, and impact assessment, which influences citizen’s trust in egovernment services to protect citizen’s personal information from being misused by government employees
This study found a significant correlation between lifecycle protection and service trust, where increasing protection of personal information is associated with increased trust in related services

Summary

Introduction

The demand for e-government services has increased [1], and business needs require more personal information [2]. The protection of personal information has become more complicated, and balancing technological advancements with privacy has become more difficult [3]. Governments, businesses, and researchers today look at information as a highly valuable resource. In e-governments, the demand for e-services has grown rapidly, and the government must protect personal information without compromising the quality of services. Technology has allowed government entities to interact flexibly and efficiently, allowing different entities to exchange needed information quickly and efficiently. The rapid growth of technology has transformed these interactions into transactions, in which it requests a large amount of information in a single transaction [5]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion