Global consumers opinion on personal data control by tech companies 2021

According to a January 2021 survey of adults worldwide, 66 percent of total respondents agreed on feeling that tech companies hold too much control over their personal data, while only six percent expressed disagreement with the statement. Consumers based in Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States reported higher levels of concern over data control, with more than seven in ten people feeling that tech companies have too much control over their personal information. While surveyed consumers in Sweden, China, and Indonesia appeared to agree the least with the statement, still more than five in ten reported feeling that tech companies have too much control over their data.

Questionable ethics and security breaches put tech companies under scrutiny

Tech giants, and big tech in particular have been under focus in recent years when it comes to data privacy and consumer-related ethics. While Google has been recipient of not one, but a number of antitrust fines from the EU dating back to 2017, tech giant Yahoo fell victim to various data breaches that resulted in the exposure of 3 billion consumer records in total to date.

User skepticism is growing

No wonder public trust has faltered. The rise of ad-blockers, VPNs and privacy search engines show that consumers are more eager than ever to protect their data online. In the United States, alternative search engine DuckDuckGo saw a surge in popularity from April 2020 - around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, over half of those surveyed in the UK said that the public exposure of recent data breaches had impacted their willingness to share personal information. The global pandemic has also hit the tech industry, with companies in the tourism sector taking the biggest blow. Booking.com laid off the highest number of employees during 2020, a total of 4375 members of staff.