Consumer Perspectives

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Consumer Perspectives Topic Page

A global, cultural and technological shift is occurring in how individuals value their privacy and the steps they will take to protect it. Here, you can find the IAPP’s collection of coverage, analysis and resources related to consumer privacy perspectives.

Featured Resources

RESOURCE ARTICLE

Consumer Perspectives of Privacy and AI

This resource analyzes how consumer perspectives of AI are shaped by the way emerging technologies affect their privacy.
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INFOGRAPHIC

Countries At-a-Glance

This infographic series offers country-specific statistics related to consumer actions, concerns and understanding related to how their data is used.
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REPORT

IAPP Privacy and Consumer Trust Report

This report shines a light on what consumers around the globe think about privacy and the companies that collect, hold and use their data.
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INFOGRAPHIC

At-a-Glance: Privacy and Consumer Trust

This infographic presents key data points of how consumers’ privacy perceptions affect their trust in companies that collect and process their personal data.
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ARTICLE

Younger consumers are more active on privacy

This article analyzes the results of the Cisco’s 2023 Consumer Privacy Survey, including how 40% of consumers between ages 18-34 exercised their data subject access rights, compared to only 15% for people ages 55-64.
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ARTICLE

Most consumers want data privacy and will act to defend it

This article analyzes consumer trust trends, ultimately showing how privacy and trust are “intertwined” as consumers gain greater awareness.
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Additional News and Resources

Martin Abrams: A look back at a career in information privacy and consumer policy

Martin Abrams knows a little something about information privacy and consumer policy. Over the course of the last 40-plus years, Abrams has had his hands in a number of initiatives, including as co-founder and president of the Centre for Information Policy Leadership and founder of the Information Accountability Foundation. He took part in the development of the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules and the OECD Working Party on Information Security and Privacy. Abram's work on transparency and accoun... Read More

Pew research: Most Americans distrustful of data privacy

The majority of Americans are concerned and confused about how their data is used, according to a Pew Research Center survey. The study found a majority of respondents feel their data is not used responsibly by either the government or companies, but also did not understand if they had control over how it is used.Full story... Read More

Putting consumers first with data privacy rules, obligations

In an op-ed for Tech Policy Press, cybersecurity entrepreneur Tom Kemp discussed how data privacy policy and practices "start with the customer experience and work backward." Kemp, a policy advisor for political action group Californians for Consumer Privacy, recommended consumer-focused considerations for moving the dialogue on privacy, including universal opt-out mechanisms, strict data broker regulation and dark patterns prohibition. Editor's note: A prior version of this story in the 22 Aug.... Read More

Consumer health data: A risk-based approach to digital privacy

The state of Washington has led the way in creating the first set of guardrails (a geofence, some would say? pun intended) around consumer health data — which has now  been followed by copycat laws such as the recently passed Connecticut Senate Bill 3 — to fill the void left by the landmark Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Recent legislative and regulatory actions, including the Federal Trade Commission cases Premom, GoodRX and Flo, were particularly challenging because companies and con... Read More

Trevor Noah warns of 'unintended consequences' of tech at GPS23

Bestselling author and former host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” Trevor Noah, said the U.S. finds itself in a "precarious position" with respect to civic engagement and its collective ability to problem solve, as he warned Big Tech’s products carry "unintended consequences" that their manufacturers have often overlooked. All technological advancements have created unintended consequences throughout history, Noah said at the Opening General Session of the IAPP Global Privacy Summit 2023 ... Read More

A view from DC: Should ChatGPT slow down?

It may not be a viral dance move yet, but the latest hot trend in tech circles is to call for a slowdown on artificial intelligence development. This week, an open letter from the "longtermist" Future of Life Institute called for a six-month pause on the development of AI systems such as large language models due to concerns around the evolution of “human-competitive intelligence” that could bring about a plethora of societal harms. Scholars agree that caution in the development of advanced alg... Read More

Consumer privacy survey shows trust requires transparency

With privacy awareness peaking among consumers, it is fair to wonder what consumers value most to secure their trust in a given organization. Cisco's 2022 Consumer Privacy Survey, which draws on 2,600 anonymous responses across 12 countries, reveals transparency to be the key to consumer trust. Cisco Systems Director Robert Waitman, CIPP/US, CIPT, offers a deeper analysis of the survey results and recommendations for how organizations can respond to consumer trends and desires.Full Story... Read More

The Privacy & Ecommerce Report: Balancing Personalization and Consumer Privacy

Original broadcast date: 22 Sept. 2022 In this web conference, panelists discuss how much data privacy matters to brand loyalty and what you can do about it, the tradeoffs consumers said they were willing to make to have control over their privacy, how women are viewing privacy controls in the wake of the Dobbs decision and the top five concerns for online privacy in eCommerce and how that translates into the top five actions your company can take today. Read More

Privacy: An organization’s responsibility for building trustworthy systems

An organization's handling and use of individual data will impact its long-term success as consumers and governments become more concerned with data privacy and protection. Businesses can no longer sit back and wait to react to these changing market forces. They must realize that building trust with consumers is an essential tenet for their success, and respecting individual privacy is a crucial component of trust. The purpose of this piece is not to discuss regulation but how privacy enforcemen... Read More

Trust, not blockchain, is the new currency: Invest early in data privacy

Data is a key business asset in the digital economy. Companies with access to large datasets are increasingly valued higher than those associated with physical products or more traditional assets (e.g., data technology companies are valued substantially higher than airlines that own planes and exclusive lucrative licenses to certain routes). Long before the pandemic, Gartner predicted that in 2022 companies would be valued on their information portfolios. Therefore, companies have a strategic i... Read More

Study: Consumers are taking more active role in protecting their privacy

Consumers around the world are increasingly taking action to protect their data, by exercising their data rights under existing privacy laws or by no longer buying from organizations that don’t properly protect their data. They are highly supportive of existing privacy laws and support little or no relaxation in privacy protections to respond to the ongoing health crisis. They are also very concerned about the use of personal data in many artificial intelligence applications. These are some of ... Read More

Why placing a price tag on personal data may harm consumer privacy

The digital revolution transforms society as we know it. In addition to economic and social progress, every technological revolution also brings along disruption and friction. Social resistance to the excesses of the new data economy is becoming increasingly visible and leads to calls for new legislation. Commentators argue that a relatively small number of companies are disproportionately profiting from consumers’ data and that the economic gap continues to grow between technology companies an... Read More

Why companies are now prioritizing privacy for their consumers

It has been more than a month since the California Consumer Privacy Act went into effect and it is an opportune time to reflect on the role data plays in our lives, how the conversation has evolved over the past year from impending legislation to compliance and enforcement and, more importantly, how more and more companies are likely to continue to rethink how they prioritize data privacy.  Let’s take a moment to review the progress we’ve made in data privacy, deficiencies that still exist and ... Read More