72% see drones as a threat to privacy

Three quarters of the Maltese regard drones as a threat to privacy, a Eurobarometer survey on the use of robots shows.

The Maltese are more likely to regard drones as a threat to privacy than other Europeans but are more likely to consider drones an efficient way to transport and deliver goods.  

The survey shows that two-thirds of respondents (66%) of all Europeans (75% in Malta) feel that civil drones pose a threat to privacy.

But while 72% of respondents in Malta regard drones as an efficient way to transport goods, only 57% of respondents in all EU member states have the same opinion.

Malta is one of five Member States where at least a fifth of respondents have seen a civil drone operating in real life: Luxembourg (27%), the Netherlands (26%), Malta (24%), Denmark (21%) and Sweden (21%). But elsewhere, relatively few respondents have witnessed the operation of drones, such as in Cyprus (2%) and Greece (1%).

The survey also reveals that the Maltese are the least comfortable in the EU with having a medical operation performed on them by a robot. Only 12% of the Maltese feel comfortable, compared to 41% of Poles and Dutch respondents.

The survey shows that 73% of Maltese and 61% of all EU respondents are uncomfortable travelling in an autonomous driverless car.