Surprise, surprise: companies are staying quiet over quite how much they know about us.
While we are generally content to give up personal information in exchange for services, such as location-based apps, it turns out that companies aren’t quite as forthcoming in giving up what data they have about us.
A University of Sheffield-led study of 327 public and private firms across the EU found that four in 10 citizen requests to reveal what data companies have on them are turned down.
The EU-funded survey found that organisations were guilty of serial malpractice and obfuscation when citizens sought clarification of what personal info of theirs these companies possess.
The University’s Professor Clive Norris, a surveillance and social control specialist who led the study, said we part with our information "actively and passively", but it’s hard to get a straight answer about what companies know about us.
The study blames national legal frameworks for undermining the spirit of the European Data Protection Directive, and said firms use legitimate but "not always convincing" means to deny citizens the chance to exercise their rights.
But what does all this mean for your business? Well, new EU data regulations are going to make companies a lot more liable and responsible over the data they hold on customers.
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The regulations will also change the definition of personal data to cover a much wider range of information.
The current is flowing in favour of individuals’ rights over their own information – just look at the recent ‘right to be forgotten‘ ruling requiring Google to erase search results – and if you paddle against it you risk being seen as some dark overlord obstructing your customers’ right to privacy.
As Prof Norris says: "Organisations need to make it clear who is responsible for dealing with requests from citizens; they need to train their staff so they are aware of their responsibilities under law; and they need to implement clear and unambiguous procedures to facilitate citizens making access requests."
