Survey shows U.S. and Canadian consumers feel they lack control over personal data, privacy
One in four have experienced data privacy violations; survey highlights Internet user’s concerns and potential role of service providers in managing and protecting digital identity.
A new personal data privacy survey shows that Internet users in the United States and Canada report significant concerns about the use and misuse of their personal and behavioral data left behind with every online interaction. The study also indicates that consumers regard communications service providers as a potential trusted source to help them safeguard this online identity, defined by Nokia Siemens Networks as the ‘digital self’.
A new personal data privacy survey shows that Internet users in the United States and Canada report significant concerns about the use and misuse of their personal and behavioral data left behind with every online interaction. The study also indicates that consumers regard communications service providers as a potential trusted source to help them safeguard this online identity, defined by Nokia Siemens Networks as the ‘digital self’.
The study – consisting of 9,200 interviews conducted in 14 countries – aimed to clarify consumer attitudes towards the use of the data that constitutes an individual’s ‘digital self.’ The ‘digital self’ is a vast collection of personal information scattered throughout the Internet in the form of ‘digital crumbs’ – the fragmented personal and behavioral information left behind every time an individual interacts with a website, uses a mobile phone or another device via cable or fixed networks.
The results of the global survey show considerable concern among consumers about the use of digital self data, with 82 percent of all respondents seeing privacy as an important topic, 76 percent being concerned about privacy violations, and 45 percent feeling they lack control over their personal data.
At the same time, 69 percent of respondents said they were interested in using a single portal to manage and supervise the various permissions they had provided to allow different parties to access their personal data. The survey also found that communication service providers were among the most trusted organizations regarding an individual’s privacy and data security. In fact, in the minds of end-users, communication service providers are ranked ahead of insurance companies, online portals, loyalty card providers, governments and online shops and communities.
“Consumers’ mastery over their digital self will grow over time, ultimately becoming the basis for an online existence that supports their lifestyle and provides them with a truly individual online experience in real-time,” said Paul Magelli, Head of Subscriber Data Management, Nokia Siemens Networks. “However, privacy and security issues need to be addressed, and the benefits made plain, if consumers are to fully unleash the value that lies within their digital self.”
According to the study, the more relevant a consumer perceives the benefit of a service or offer to be, the less crucial are the privacy barriers. Benefits attractive to users should be clear, concrete and measurable.
Magelli added, “This study shows that consumers clearly see communication service providers as among the organizations most trusted to respect their privacy and personal data, a fact we see as pointing to the real potential that service providers have to help their customers better protect their digital self.”
The Nokia Siemens Networks privacy study was carried out in September 2009 and aimed to understand the attitudes, motives, perceptions and behaviors of end users towards privacy; their readiness to allow the usage of their digital self data by communication service providers and third parties; and their willingness to share that data in the context of the value they could derive from doing so.
A new personal data privacy survey shows that Internet users in the United States and Canada report significant concerns about the use and misuse of their personal and behavioral data left behind with every online interaction. The study also indicates that consumers regard communications service providers as a potential trusted source to help them safeguard this online identity, defined by Nokia Siemens Networks as the ‘digital self’.
A new personal data privacy survey shows that Internet users in the United States and Canada report significant concerns about the use and misuse of their personal and behavioral data left behind with every online interaction. The study also indicates that consumers regard communications service providers as a potential trusted source to help them safeguard this online identity, defined by Nokia Siemens Networks as the ‘digital self’.
The study – consisting of 9,200 interviews conducted in 14 countries – aimed to clarify consumer attitudes towards the use of the data that constitutes an individual’s ‘digital self.’ The ‘digital self’ is a vast collection of personal information scattered throughout the Internet in the form of ‘digital crumbs’ – the fragmented personal and behavioral information left behind every time an individual interacts with a website, uses a mobile phone or another device via cable or fixed networks.
The results of the global survey show considerable concern among consumers about the use of digital self data, with 82 percent of all respondents seeing privacy as an important topic, 76 percent being concerned about privacy violations, and 45 percent feeling they lack control over their personal data.
At the same time, 69 percent of respondents said they were interested in using a single portal to manage and supervise the various permissions they had provided to allow different parties to access their personal data. The survey also found that communication service providers were among the most trusted organizations regarding an individual’s privacy and data security. In fact, in the minds of end-users, communication service providers are ranked ahead of insurance companies, online portals, loyalty card providers, governments and online shops and communities.
“Consumers’ mastery over their digital self will grow over time, ultimately becoming the basis for an online existence that supports their lifestyle and provides them with a truly individual online experience in real-time,” said Paul Magelli, Head of Subscriber Data Management, Nokia Siemens Networks. “However, privacy and security issues need to be addressed, and the benefits made plain, if consumers are to fully unleash the value that lies within their digital self.”
According to the study, the more relevant a consumer perceives the benefit of a service or offer to be, the less crucial are the privacy barriers. Benefits attractive to users should be clear, concrete and measurable.
Magelli added, “This study shows that consumers clearly see communication service providers as among the organizations most trusted to respect their privacy and personal data, a fact we see as pointing to the real potential that service providers have to help their customers better protect their digital self.”
The Nokia Siemens Networks privacy study was carried out in September 2009 and aimed to understand the attitudes, motives, perceptions and behaviors of end users towards privacy; their readiness to allow the usage of their digital self data by communication service providers and third parties; and their willingness to share that data in the context of the value they could derive from doing so.
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