By: Axios
March 31, 2021
Trust in tech — including companies specializing in AI, VR, 5G and the internet of things — fell all around the world last year, the Edelman Trust Barometer found in a massive survey of 31,000 people in 27 countries.
Driving the news: The study, provided first to Axios, is a special tech edition of data collected for the annual Trust Barometer. All-time lows, going back to comparable Edelman polling in 2012, were hit in 17 of 27 countries, including the U.S., U.K., France, China, Japan, Thailand, Brazil and Mexico.
Why it matters: High public esteem has helped protect the tech industry from critics and regulators, but that shield is weakening.
Details: Edelman found that favorable views of the tech sector globally dropped six points overall, to 70 (on a scale of 100).