In a BBC World Service poll conducted by Globescan, nearly four in five (78%) web users said the internet had brought them greater freedom, nine in ten (90%) said they thought it was a good place to learn, and just over half (51%) said they enjoyed spending their spare time on social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace.
But the respondents were evenly split between those who felt that “the internet is a safe place to express my opinions” (48%) and those who did not think so.
Japan was among the countries where most web users did not feel they could express their opinions safely online (65%), alongside South Korea (70%), France (69%), Germany (72%), and China (55%). In contrast, most Indians (70%), Ghanaians (74%), and Kenyans (73%) felt they could express their opinions safely.
Internet users also worried about internet fraud — 32% said it was their biggest fear —- violent and explicit content (27%), and threats to privacy (20%).
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