Exclusive: Half of all Brits no longer trust tech giants with their personal data
Nearly half of Britons no longer trust Big Tech companies to safeguard their personal data, according to new research that was shared exclusively with City PM today.
Only one in four Brits believe Big Tech firms have their best interests at heart, according to a survey by cloud solution provider NexGen Cloud.
This comes amid reports that tech titans are facing increasing scrutiny in the public eye, with a growing number of regulators starting to crack down on Big Tech’s dominant grip over society.
The research uncovered serious misgivings about data privacy among consumers, with the majority of respondents (66%) concerned about how tech giants are able to collect and use their personal information.
The study also found respondents are concerned about the excessive power and influence that Big Tech companies have accumulated. Indeed, nearly half (51 per cent) believe tech giants hold too much control over their personal lives, while the majority (75 per cent) agree that large tech firms have gained excessive power over the technology market.
Negative impact
Worryingly, the research highlighted the negative impact that Big Tech’s market dominance is having over consumers, with 60 per cent of Britons admitting that they feel like there is little choice but to use technologies provided by tech giants.
Despite the monopoly that large tech firms have over the market, 36 per cent of respondents said they made a conscious effort to spend their money with smaller competitors when buying or using technology.
The study also highlighted a strong consensus among respondents that more needs to be done to rein in Big Tech, with 72 per cent believing there is a need for tech giants to be regulated more tightly.
“A growing number of consumers mistrust tech giants with their personal data and feel threated by the insidious control they exert over their personal lives,” said Chris Starkey, founder and director, NexGen Cloud.
“Regulating Big Tech companies must therefore take on a new and almost existential urgency to address this imbalance of power globally,” he told City PM this afternoon.
“Big Tech’s unnatural monopoly of the market and increasing civic power poses a looming threat to the core aspects of democracy, and our study highlights consumers’ vulnerability and resignation to the excessive power held by large tech corporations.”
“Now, there is a critical need for the industry to restore consumers’ foundations of trust in technology, and this must begin by building a fairer and decentralised digital landscape,” Starkey concluded.
The cloud solutions provider commissioned an independent survey among 2,000 UK adults revealing consumers’ growing mistrust in big technology firms.