New survey on data protection and electronic identity

The main conclusions of a new Eurobarometer survey on attitudes towards data protection and electronic identity show that three out of four Europeans accept that revealing personal data is part of everyday life, but they are also worried about how companies – including search engines and social networks – use their information.

The report reveals that 62% of people in the European Union give the minimum required information so as to protect their identity, while 75% want to be able to delete personal information online whenever they want to – the so-called right to be forgotten.However people disclose personal data, including biographical information (almost 90%), social information (almost 50%) and sensitive information (almost 10%) on the sites.

The survey results come as the Commission prepares to reform EU data protection rules (see IP/10/1462) and SPEECH/11/183).

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