A comparative test of the protection motivation theory: active and passive privacy protection in Brazil, Germany, the United States, and Vietnam

Online companies surveil users around the world for commercial purposes. We advance protection motivation theory (PMT), by categorizing user responses to surveillance as either active or passive (i.e., self-inhibition) privacy protection behavior, integrating privacy literacy overconfidence, and exploring privacy resignation as a moderator. Finally, we adopt a comparative lens by investigating protection behavior in four national contexts: Brazil, Germany, the United States, and Vietnam. Results of an online survey (Ntotal = 2,092) show that perceiving surveillance as privacy threat was not consistently associated with active protection behavior. Rather, self-inhibition was a more likely response to surveillance which may have detrimental consequences for both individuals and societies. Across countries, perceived effectiveness of active protection positively relates to both forms of protection while active protection does not prevent self-inhibition. Interestingly, privacy resignation may not always impede protection. In summary, not all aspects of PMT are generalizable when using a culturally diverse sample.