Ipsos and World Economic Forum Launch Privacy Survey

Ipsos has launched a tracking study called the Global Citizens and Data Privacy Survey, in partnership with not-for-profit organization the World Economic Forum. The survey aims to shed light on the lack of knowledge and trust around the use of personal data by companies and governments.

Conducted in 26 countries around the world using Ipsos online panels, the new survey will be conducted and reported twice a year with the aim of understanding attitudes toward data privacy. In the current wave, a total of 18,813 interviews were conducted between October 26th and November 9th 2018, among adults aged 18-64 in the US and Canada, and adults aged 16-64 in all other countries.

Rolled out at the Forum's annual meeting of global political and business elites in Davos, Switzerland, the survey suggests world citizens are in the dark about how their personal information is used - most of all those from economically advanced countries. Only one in three adults globally has a good idea of how much personal data companies hold about them (35%), or what they do with it (32%). When it comes to trust in different types of organisations that handle personal data, Britons' trust is lowest for foreign governments (17%), and just 43% trust the national government, compared with the two-thirds (66%) of Brits who would trust doctors and hospitals to handle personal data in the 'right way'.

Almost three-quarters (72%) of Brits would feel much or somewhat more comfortable sharing their data with a company that provides clear information about what they will do with that data. Globally, most consumers agree that allowing companies to use personal data is something they should be able to refuse (62%) and that they should be paid or rewarded for it (54%). Only about half as many agree it helps consumers save time (35%) or save money (28%), just 23% agree that it doesn't bother them, while twice as many (44%) disagree.

Web sites: www.ipsos.com and www.weforum.org .