The vast majority of Americans say having control over their personal data is important to them — but few have confidence in the government and companies that keep those records, according to a new survey.
Ninety-three percent of adults say that having some control over who can get information about them is important, according to the survey by the Pew Research Center published on Wednesday, with 90 percent saying they had concerns over what information was collected.
"In the almost two years that have passed since the initial (Edward) Snowden revelations, the public has been awash in news stories detailing security breaches at major retailers, health insurance companies and financial institutions," Pew Research Center senior researcher Mary Madden said in a press release. "These events and the doubts they inspired have contributed to a cloud of personal ‘data insecurity’ that now looms over many Americans' daily decisions and activities."
Most of the nearly 500 U.S. adults surveyed said they don't have much confidence that the companies, websites and government agencies that collect their data will be able to keep it safe, however. Only 6 percent said they were "very confident" that the government could keep their data secure, while only 3 percent gave the same level of trust to their email provider.
IN-DEPTH
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--- Matthew DeLuca