This chapter presents data gathered by a Germany-related survey that was conducted by the authors between 29th of November and 18th of December 2011, with the aid of Johannes Fritz (Research Assistant at Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg). The sample was limited but highly educated, consisting mainly of students and teaching staff of the Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. The authors present statistical graphics in order to visualise the quantitative data. Additionally, statistical analysis is being conducted (using one by one variable analysis) in order to identify trends and associations between different groups in the same country.
TopGerman Internet Users And Internet Regulation Policies
Below, the authors include a series of related inquiries regarding their research topic.
Figure 1.
Are you aware of the global phenomenon of Internet regulation?
A question of major significance was “Are you informed regarding the global phenomenon of Internet regulation?”, to which respondents (in their great majority) stated that they were informed to some extent at an overall rate of 97.2 percent. More specifically, 45.8 percent of the participants stated well-informed, 43.1 percent that they just knew the basics, 8.3 percent that they just heard about it, and only 2.8 percent stated that they knew nothing at all.
Figure 2.
What were the means of your information?
Regarding the means of their information, it is worth mentioning that 91.3 percent read about it online, 50.7 percent through private conversations, 36.2 percent via newspapers, and 30.4 percent via specialised magazines.
Figure 3.
Who was the source of your information?
Concerning the source of information, 74.3 percent of the respondents stated that it was mass media, 68.6 percent that their source were individuals they knew personally, 64.3 percent that they were specialised researchers and related scientists, and 20 percent via government briefing or statements.
Figure 4.
Have you ever faced online censorship in the past?
Another interesting question was “Have you ever experienced any kind of Internet censorship as a user?”. 38.9 percent of the respondents stated “Yes, at least once,” 34.7 percent stated “No, never,” while a 26.4 percent stated that they actually do not know.
Figure 5.
Was the censorship based in Germany?