Darrell M. West
As more human activities move online, companies are accumulating extensive information about consumers. The sheer amount of data involved raises important questions regarding personal privacy. People worry that companies have too much confidential information, the material is at risk of being compromised, and data will be publicized or used against them in some manner. Figuring out how to deal with these issues represents a major challenge for consumers, businesses, and government officials.
To examine attitudes toward consumer privacy, researchers at the Brookings Institution undertook an online U.S. national poll with 2,006 adult internet users between May 8 to 10, 2019. The survey was overseen by Darrell M. West, vice president of Governance Studies and director of the Center for Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institution and the author of The Future of Work: Robots, AI, and Automation. Responses were weighted using gender, age, and region to match the demographics of the national internet population as estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey.
One of the primary approaches to privacy protection involves “notice and consent” requirements. When consumers want to purchase an app or utilize an online service, they are shown detailed terms of service and must consent to the stated data sharing and legal liability provisions. When asked how often they read these terms before providing consent, 32 percent say they never read the terms, 39 percent read them sometimes, 20 percent claim they read the terms most of the time, and 9 percent are unsure. The large number of non- or partial-readers (nearly three-quarters of the population) shows the ineffectiveness of notice and consent requirements. There cannot be informed consent when people do not know the terms to which they are agreeing.
WHO SHOULD PROTECT ONLINE DATA?
We also asked who should be responsible for protecting online data. Thirty-six percent say the national government, 20 percent cite businesses, 16 percent claim consumers, 6 percent identify state governments, and 22 percent don’t know or have no opinion
ONE SET OF GOVERNMENT RULES
Sixty-seven percent indicate they would like one consistent set of government rules on the handling of online consumer data, 14 percent do not, and 19 percent don’t know or have no opinion.
DO-NOT-TRACK REGISTRY
Seventy-eight percent believe the U.S. Federal Trade Commission should establish a national “do-not-track” registry that allows consumers to opt out of sharing their personal data, 7 percent do not, and 15 percent do not or have no opinion.
IMPORTANCE OF ONLINE PRIVACY
When asked how important online privacy is to them, 80 percent say it is important, 12 percent think it is unimportant, and 8 percent don’t know or have no opinion.
PRIOR CONSUMER APPROVAL
Eighty-five percent believe companies should be required to get a consumer’s approval on the use of personal data before the data are collected, 6 percent do not, and 9 percent don’t know or have no opinion. And when asked about the use of geographic location data from mobile devices, 84 percent think companies should be required to get a consumer’s approval, 5 percent do not, and 11 percent don’t know or have no opinion.
SELLING CONSUMER INFORMATION
Seventy-three percent think companies should not be allowed to sell consumer information to other firms that are not bound by the privacy rules of the original company, 19 percent believe they should, and 8 percent don’t know or have no opinion.
CONFIDENCE IN DATA USAGE
Only 8 percent are very confident they know what data are being collected when they use connected devices, 25 percent are somewhat confident, 58 percent are not confident at all, and 9 percent don’t know or have no opinion. When asked how confident they were about how data was being used or shared by companies, 7 percent are very confident, 19 percent are somewhat confident, 64 percent are not confident at all, and 10 percent don’t know or have no opinion.
1. How important is online privacy to you?
9% very unimportant
3% somewhat unimportant
14% somewhat important
66% very important
8% don’t know or no answer
2. When you sign up for online services, companies ask you to read and accept their terms of service. How much of the time do you read these terms of service?
32% never
39% sometimes
20% most of the time
9% don’t know or no answer
3. Would you like one consistent set of government rules on the handling of online consumer data?
10% definitely no
4% possibly no
19% possibly yes
48% definitely yes
19% don’t know or no answer
4. Should companies be required to get a consumer’s approval on the use of their personal data before the data are collected?
4% definitely no
2% possibly no
12% possibly yes
73% definitely yes
9% don’t know or no answer
5. Should companies be required to get a consumer’s approval on the use of their geographic location from mobile devices before the data are collected?
3% definitely no
2% possibly no
13 possibly yes
71% definitely yes
11% don’t know or no answer
6. Should companies be allowed to sell consumer information to other firms that are not bound by the privacy rules of the original company?
66% definitely no
7% possibly no
5% possibly yes
14% definitely yes
8% don’t know or no answer
7. Should the U.S. Federal Trade Commission establish a national “do-not-track” registry that allows consumers to opt out of sharing their personal data?
5% definitely no
2% somewhat no
12% somewhat yes
66% definitely yes
15% don’t know or no answer
8. How confident do you feel that you know what data is being collected when you use connected devices?
58% not confident at all
25% somewhat confident
8% very confident
9% don’t know or no answer
9. How confident do you feel that you know how data is being used or shared by companies you provide information to?
64% not confident at all
19% somewhat confident
7% very confident
10% don’t know or no answer
10. Who do you think should be most responsible for protecting consumer privacy?
20% businesses
36% national government
6% state governments
16% consumers
22% don’t know or no answer
Gender:
52.7% male, 47.3% female in sample
48.1% male, 51.9% female in target population
Age:
6.0% 18-24, 14.6% 25-34, 17.0% 35-44, 20.7% 45-54, 23.4% 55-64, 18.3% 65+ in sample
12.6% 18-24, 19.4% 25-34, 17.5% 35-44, 17.6% 45-54, 16.7% 55-64, 16.2% 65+ in target population
Region:
16.5% Northeast, 26.0% Midwest, 36.1% South, 21.4% West in sample
17.3% Northeast, 21.3% Midwest, 37.5% South, 23.9% West in target population
SURVEY METHODOLOGY
This online survey polled 2,006 adult internet users in the United States May 8 to 10, 2019 through the Google Surveys platform. Responses were weighted using gender, age, and region to match the demographics of the national internet population as estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey.
No comments:
Post a Comment