CHAPTER 2: PRIVACY
government’s use of data,56 particularly in terms of profiling or leaks.57 Aligned
with the concepts of privacy outlined above, the public are particularly
concerned about their data being leaked, lost, shared or sold without their
consent.58
(d)
Safeguards appear to be relevant to public levels of trust: where no mention of
safeguards is made the balance of opinion is against data sharing within
government, but with safeguards half are in favour of such sharing.59
2.28.
Public surveys have shown particularly low levels of trust in relation to phone
companies and ISPs in dealing with data.60 A recent survey showed only between
4% and 7% had high levels of trust in such companies to use their data appropriately.61
They also show a general lack of confidence in the security of everyday channels,
social media being viewed as the least secure and a landline as the most secure.62
2.29.
Some studies show differences in approach by age, although these are not consistent.
Several surveys show that younger people care less, trust organisations more, and
are happier with data collection and use or online surveillance than older
generations.63 However, the TNS BMRB poll showed that younger people gave a
higher priority to privacy when weighed against security,64 and polls in America have
shown that most teenagers take steps to protect their privacy online. 65 Again, while
far from conclusive, there is some indication that social class may make a difference:
lower social classes showed greater levels of discomfort in relation to sharing their
data in the Wellcome Trust survey.
The Snowden effect
2.30.
The Snowden Documents detailed the alleged extent of surveillance by British and
US security and intelligence agencies. Summarised at 7.6-7.7 below and in Annex 7
to this Report, these materials have influenced some people’s views on the balance
between privacy and security.
2.31.
Particularly striking in this regard was the realisation of the extent to which
communications were being intercepted in bulk. It was not shocking to discover that
no means of communication is immune: that has been the case for as long as mails
have been opened and spies secreted behind the arras. But because such
techniques were haphazard, risky and resource-intensive, they have generally been
used sparingly, and on a targeted basis. Bulk collection of electronic messages, as
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
Big Data: Seizing Opportunities, Preserving Values, May 2014, in which law enforcement and
intelligence agencies were ranked low in terms of public trust.
See Ipsos MORI: ESRC/ONS, Deloitte, and Eurobarometer.
See Ipsos MORI: ESRC/ONS, and Deloitte.
Ipsos MORI, PAS; Deloitte; Demos; although it is expected and supported by the public that
governmental administrative data is linked and shared between departments; See Ipsos MORI:
ESRC/ONS.
Ipsos MORI: RSS.
Eurobarometer; Ipsos MORI: RSS.
Ipsos MORI: RSS.
Pew, Public Perceptions.
Wellcome Trust; Eurobarometer; Pew, Public Perceptions; Deloitte.
Wellcome Trust.
Pew Research Center, “Teens and Mobile Apps Privacy”, (2013).
34