Security News > 2021 > October > Consumer privacy study finds online privacy is of growing concern to increasingly more people
If that makes it sound like the findings of the study point to a low level of consumer confidence in the protection of their online privacy, that would be accurate.
The report itself highlights four key takeaways from the data, each of which it said "Demonstrates the growing importance of privacy to the individual and its implications on the businesses and governments that serve them."
Eighty-six percent of respondents said they care about their data privacy and want more control, while 79% said they were willing to act by not making a purchase, expecting to pay more for privacy, and spending money to protect their data.
Second, respondents had positive views of privacy laws, but a low level of awareness of those laws, with only 43% of respondents saying they were aware of the particular laws in their country.
As for COVID-19 related privacy hiccups, consumers don't have much patience for being asked to reduce their privacy in the name of better pandemic response, with 42% saying they want no suspension of privacy laws, and 20% saying only a very few should be suspended in specific instances.
Lastly, abuse of data handling has eroded trust, and many are suspicious of AI that uses data to automate decision making.