New Survey: 80% of Consumers Want Control Over Information Collected by Data Brokers

PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- As Congress examines how data brokers collect, aggregate and share consumers' personal information, a new survey by TrustedID – the nation's most comprehensive identity protection and privacy service – shows that most people are confused about how data brokers operate and want centralized control of how data brokers handle their personal information. 

Responses to the survey shed light on the confusing and elusive nature of data broker companies including:

Less than one fifth of consumers have a good understanding of data brokers:

• Only 18% of consumers have significant or complete understanding of how to define a data broker company
• Only 16% of consumers have significant or complete understanding of what information data brokers collect
• Only 20% of consumers have significant or complete understanding of what data brokers do with that information

Consumers want access to and control over the information data brokers collect:

• 76% of consumers feel that it is important to be notified about information that data brokers collect
• 71% of consumers feel that it is important to be able to access and see information data brokers collect and 77% feel that it is important to be able to modify that information
• 80% of consumers feel that it is important to be able to opt out of the distribution and sale of information or delete the information that data brokers collect

"Consumers are not aware that, when they do business with many companies, their name, address and purchase data are traded with data brokers, who then resell this information," said Scott Mitic, Chief Executive Officer, TrustedID.  "Our survey supports the notion that consumers want to be made aware of data brokers' practices and have control over their data. We are actively working to bring transparency and consumer choice to this multi-billion dollar industry."

TrustedID delivers the most comprehensive suite of identity protection and privacy services to ensure that consumers' personal information remains under their control.  For more information about TrustedID products and services visit us at www.trustedid.com or www.catalogchoice.org.  

The full, downloadable report, Consumer Perspectives - Data Brokers In Review, outlines the survey results and provides an understanding of how consumers view data broker practices.

Methodology

Conducted online, the survey questioned a national sample of over 2,960 Americans who have accounts at Catalog Choice, a TrustedID company. Polling took place between August 23, 2012 and September 5, 2012. For questions about understanding of data brokers, participants could rank their understanding about data brokers and as "no understanding," "little understanding," "some understanding," "significant understanding," or "complete understanding." For questions about the importance of information and access to data collected, participants could rank the importance as "very unimportant," "somewhat unimportant," "neutral," "somewhat important," or "very important."

About TrustedID

TrustedID proactively safeguards the personal information of millions of consumers with a comprehensive suite of identity, privacy, and marketing opt-out services. TrustedID's offerings give consumers the ability to both protect and control their personal information, providing security and peace of mind.  TrustedID is privately-held with headquarters in Palo Alto, California. For more information about TrustedID services, visit www.trustedid.com and catalogchoice.org.

SOURCE TrustedID