Also, 52 percent of Americans, according to the survey, believe that government investment in e-government would enhance homeland security by helping agencies, such as the FBI, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the police to share information quickly and to better coordinate emergency response. But 36 percent said it would hurt homeland security, partly because Internet technology might be vulnerable to attack.
The survey, the third annual on e-government, was conducted in February by Hart/Teeter Research on behalf of the Council for Excellence in Government, which has long supported expansion of e-government, and Accenture, a consulting, management and telecommunications company. The survey was to be released today. Patricia McGinnis, chief executive of the council, said the survey shows "how e-savvy people are becoming."
According to the report, 68 percent have Internet access at home, school or work, and seven in 10 go online at least once a day. Further, 50 percent of all Americans and 75 percent of American Internet users have used a government -- federal, state or local -- Web site to get information or conduct a transaction.
Of those who go online, 66 percent say they have used a credit card over the Internet, and 70 percent have bought a product or service. Although 70 percent gave personal information to a commercial Web site to get a product or service, only 29 percent did so to a government Web site.
Americans are generally accessing government Web sites to get information -- to find an office address or list of services -- but they also expressed interest in using government Web sites for other purposes, such as renewing a driver's license (61 percent) and determining eligibility for government programs (59 percent).
Although the survey report was optimistic about the future of e-government, it noted that the "public is not ready for online voting," noting that only three in 10 supported the concept while 54 percent strongly opposed online voting and 13 percent somewhat opposed it.
The survey also found opposition to a voluntary national identification card with personal information in digital form, "a controversial extension of e-government." Despite the report's showing of Americans turning to government Web sites, only 8 percent said they were very familiar with e-government, a situation that has not changed since 2001. But the report said this indicates that although people may be familiar with specific online government services, "they do not relate those services to the broader concept of online government."
Quelle: Washington Post
