Data distrust ‘could harm UK economy’

Trust in Personal Data: A UK Review is a study of more than UK 4,000 consumers conducted by the Digital Catapult, a national centre intended to “rapidly advance the UK’s best digital ideas”.

It revealed that 65% of UK consumers are unsure whether their data is being shared without their consent, and 60% are uncomfortable sharing data. 76% of respondents to the survey said they were concerned that they had no control over how their data was shared or who it was shared with, leading 14% to refuse to share any personal data at all.

Worryingly for UK businesses, 79% of respondents said they believed that the motivations of businesses and other organisations for using personal data was for economic gain.

“The sharing of personal data is vital to the improvement of digital services and the development of new ones,” said Neil Crockett, CEO at Digital Catapult. “Every digital service reaches a point where it must overcome a hurdle. This is often associated with data, whether that is in the opening up of closed datasets or use of consumer information.

“To deliver the best digital services and drive economic growth, we must ensure they trust businesses to use their information in the right way. In doing this we not only create new and more productive citizen and consumer digital solutions, we give the UK a real chance in being a leader in a new wave of digital tools and approaches to solve a global problem.”