A new survey by Cisco found that 53% of consumers are aware of their national privacy laws, a significant increase of 17 percentage points since 2019.
The 2024 Consumer Privacy Survey gathered responses from 2,600 consumers across 12 countries, including the UK, the US, Germany, France, India, and Australia.
The survey found a link between awareness of privacy rights and confidence in data protection. Among those aware of privacy rights, 81% felt confident in their data being protected, compared to 44% of those unaware.
“Our survey highlights the importance of privacy awareness in building consumer trust in brands and AI technologies,” said Cisco’s vice president and chief privacy officer Harvey Jang. “Nearly 60% of consumers aware of privacy laws are comfortable using AI. Broadening awareness and educating consumers about their privacy rights will empower them to make informed decisions and foster greater trust in emerging technologies.”
Rise in AI use and related privacy issues
The survey also examined the growth of generative AI (GenAI) and related challenges. 63% of respondents indicated that AI could positively impact their lives. The use of GenAI tools, too, has nearly doubled among respondents compared to last year, with 23% of respondents now using these tools compared to 12% previously. However, 44% of respondents were still unfamiliar with GenAI, indicating a knowledge gap.
Consumers using GenAI mentioned benefits, especially for content creation, but also raised concerns regarding safety, potential misuse, and societal risks. 30% of its users reported inputting personal or confidential information, such as financial and health data, into GenAI tools. This occurred despite 84% expressing concerns about the potential public exposure of such data.
Privacy awareness has become an important consumer expectation. The survey showed that over 75% of respondents would avoid purchasing from companies they do not trust with their data. Younger consumers were more likely to act on privacy concerns, with 49% of those aged 25-34 changing companies or providers over data policies or data-sharing practices, compared to 18% among those aged 75 and older.
Younger respondents were also more likely to be aware of their privacy rights, with 64% of those aged 25-34 reporting awareness, compared to 33% among those aged 65 and above. More consumers are exercising their rights regarding personal data, such as accessing, correcting, deleting, or transferring data through Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs). Young adults led these actions, with 46% taking such steps, compared to 16% of older consumers.
In the past year, many consumers took steps to protect their data. 67% reviewed or updated privacy settings on apps or platforms, 68% used multi-factor authentication, and 61% used password management tools.
The survey indicated broad support for privacy protections. 70% of respondents believed that privacy laws have a positive impact, while only 5% viewed them negatively. Consumers favoured consistent privacy protections across borders, with 77% supporting uniform privacy regulations globally.
Read more: LinkedIn trains AI models on user data ahead of changes to privacy policy
