BOSTON - Feb. 26, 2021 - Lynn Bentley, President of Knobull announced, "Research shows that a vast majority of consumers have a poor understanding of data privacy issues yet think they are proactive in protecting themselves, We are currently conducting a student focused survey to add to previous results that can be accessed at Knobull's Linkedin Company page."
More than 80% of the people surveyed thus far said they were proactive in maintaining their data privacy however, they did not take basic precautions to protect their data -- showing a lack of education without a corresponding drop in confidence. The surveys found that 60% are willing to share personal data if it makes it easier to access key services and 83% say they are comfortable storing their biometric data with apps or third-party identity verification systems such as those at airports.
Consumers exhibited divided attitudes because they had high confidence in their abilities to protect their personal data but 70% also said they were somewhat or highly concerned about their data. About one third of consumers were very pessimistic saying that they believed they had little control over their data and nearly one-quarter said the issues were too complex to understand while 30% did not know where to begin.
A key difference between countries: UK consumers had a significantly higher trust in their employers, banks and government agencies to hold their personal data secure. Major Internet platforms have come under fire for their use and misuse of consumer personal data. In 2021 US and UK lawmakers are looking at potential regulations to control the use of personal data. Our goal is to compare student responses to those of the broader consumer market. This will have huge consequences on multi-billion dollar online advertising markets and data sellers.
Bentley concluded, "These surveys show that voters will need to become better educated to be able to understand and support upcoming data privacy regulations. We look forward to publishing the results from our student focused data privacy survey. They should also make sure they utilize online services, such as Knobull and DuckDuckGo, that have built their business model around personal data security!"
