The role of normative influence, risk, and trust in Facebook users' online privacy protection behaviour

The growth of the Internet and recent widespread adoption of online social network services such as Facebook necessitates research into how individuals can be effectively encouraged to protect their privacy online. Previous online privacy research has focused on commercial transactions and corporate communication, and suggests that users' perceptions of trust and risk are key predictors of privacy protection behaviour. In the novel context of Facebook, a social networking service where users form or maintain interpersonal relationships, it was hypothesised that normative influence would play a role in predicting online privacy intentions and behaviour. Participants were exposed to 1 of 4 normative messages, each containing an injunctive group norm (UQ students approve or disapprove of online privacy protection) and a descriptive group norm (UQ students engage or do not engage in online privacy protection themselves). Perceptions of trust and risk were examined as potential mediators. Attitudes, subjective norms, perceived control, and intentions to protect privacy on Facebook were measured within the framework of the theory of planned behaviour; privacy protection behaviour was measured by accessing participants' public Facebook profiles two weeks following the experimental manipulation. Results indicated that neither manipulated group norms nor trust predicted online privacy protection intentions or behaviours. However, greater perceptions of risk were associated with increased intentions to protect privacy. Partial support for the theory of planned behaviour model in the novel social context of Facebook contrasts with previous research into online privacy. The role of normative influence in creating effective interventions to promote online privacy protection is discussed, as are specific directions for future research to reconcile findings of the current study with existing online privacy literature.