Consumers in 5 countries, including the U.S., are losing trust in companies’ data protection measures.
CORPORATE LEADERS around the world say they are doing a better job at protecting consumers’ data, yet consumers disagree. Globally, 85% of consumers say they wish they could trust companies more with their data.
Those are the results of a survey of more than 5,000 consumers and 2,000 executives in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, China, and India, put together by PricewaterhouseCoopers, a global network of firms providing assurance, tax, and consulting services. According to PwC, consumer tolerance might soon change.
“There really wasn’t a big difference from a consumer perspective across the world,” says Jay Cline, U.S. privacy leader principal at PwC. “(Consumers) require companies to trust them more with their data — this is a universal desire.”
Other findings in the PwC report:
- The U.S. reported the highest percentage of consumers saying they wish there were more companies that they could trust with their data (90%), followed by Canada (85%), the UK (84%), China (84%) and India (80%).
- In the five countries surveyed, 76% of consumers said sharing their personal information with companies is a necessity in today’s modern economy, with consumers in the U.S. and the U.K. agreeing with that statement the most (81% and 80% respectively). In addition, 83% of consumers want more control over their own data.
- Consumers say it’s up to companies to provide trust and to offer them control over their information. “Eighty-six percent call it the responsibility of business to protect consumer data, in part because they know what they don’t know: 59% call themselves ‘novices’ at protecting their own personal privacy, perhaps because privacy documents can stretch to dozens of pages, which few have time to read,” say the authors of the report. Very few consumers report knowledge of what specific security issues are, as well as the practices associated with them, such as identity-theft monitoring.
Overall, the PwC study revealed consumers say they can’t identify trustworthy companies when using their data. Yet if they could identify such companies they would choose them.
“Social media platforms, for example, are famously ‘sticky’, but 52% of global consumers say that they would leave their current platforms for one that protects their data better,” say the authors of the report.
In addition, consumers’ tolerance levels with how companies treat their privacy are decreasing, with 36% of those surveyed saying they are less comfortable sharing information now than a year ago. Only 17% say they are more comfortable with the process, according to the report.
Yet the outlook isn’t completely bleak for companies, says Cline, as the data concerns can also lead to opportunities for businesses.
“The first companies that really get this right (allowing users) to get some control of their data and are transparent about how they use and share the data they have the chance to restore trust and gain a personal advantage,” says Cline. “Consumers are ready to shift allegiance to whoever can figure this out.”
The PwC survey results are even starker findings than in the 2020 Best Countries report, where a sharp majority of respondents in 36 countries said they want tighter regulation of Big Tech companies and believe their internet privacy is at risk. In that survey, small proportions of respondents in Canada (26%), China (28%), the U.K. (31%) and the U.S. (27%) said they moderately or strongly trust companies to keep their personal data safe. By contrast, a slim majority of respondents in India (53%) said they trust companies.