American Consumer Concerns About Data Privacy

Professionally and personally, most of us spend a lot of our time online. We use our smartphones and our personal computers for everything from work to social connections to our primary source for entertainment and news, the Internet is unavoidable. Even our grandparents or parents who lack tech savvy religiously use email or have learned to rely on online portals to pay bills. Although brands employ cybersecurity protocols to keep our personal data safe, how safe is our confidential information, really? The risk of exposed personal details online negatively impacts U.S. consumer opinions about sharing their information on even the most secure websites. These data privacy concerns are valid — cybercriminals look for security vulnerabilities to target your information, hackers can steal your identity, and data brokers share your personal details with their clients. Thankfully, there are federal and state laws in place to help safeguard consumers’ data, and steps you can take to protect yourself online. Data privacy (also known as information privacy) is the protection of personal data shared with a company. It requires an individual’s consent on what information is also shared with a third party. American consumers want control over how their personal data is used, and data protection laws help to promote an individual’s control. Data privacy involves the following: Data privacy is vital to the safety of everyone who uses the Internet or shares their confidential information with a company or with the government. Current and future federal and state data protection laws help to address data privacy concerns by allowing individuals to have some autonomy over how their personal information is shared. Data privacy also provides the following: U.S. privacy concerns began long before the dawn of the Internet — the first data privacy and protection law, the Privacy Act of 1974, is over 50 years old and was passed to protect American consumers from government privacy invasions. Most federal and state privacy laws prevent different types of personal data from restricting personal rights, used for malevolent purposes or being shared with unscrupulous third parties. For example, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, passed in 1999, requires financial institutions to disclose their data sharing policies, create and implement robust cybersecurity systems, protect sensitive consumer data, and allow customers an “opt-out” option for data sharing. A few examples of other state and federal laws that address data privacy concerns include: There are several other federal-level data privacy laws that protect financial, medical, and educational personal data, and as AI use rises, more may be on the way. Although California led the charge on state data privacy laws, many other states (including Colorado, Maryland, and Oregon) have followed suit and passed state-level consumer data privacy laws. Data privacy is a bipartisan issue in the U.S. and most American consumers care deeply about the protection of their personal information. Consumer opinions on data privacy are fairly widespread, and many Americans from all walks of life strongly support federal regulations for data protection. According to the Pew Research Center , the primary data privacy concerns for American consumers include: Our personal data is crucial to the success of many online brands. However, they don’t always use it for nefarious purposes. Personal data allows companies to improve products and the customer experience. Companies might use our personal data for marketing and advertising, statistical analysis, medical research, and credit and loan evaluation. In short, yes, but you can proactively increase your awareness and take cybersecurity measures to help protect yourself. It’s vital to know how your personal information might be shared, and what aspects of data sharing are in your control. Increasingly, most of us spend a lot of time online. Technology advances so rapidly that addressing online data privacy concerns on your own may seem overwhelming. However, by understanding how your personal data is used and the inherent risks you may be exposed to, you become better equipped to protect your personal data. Some of the privacy challenges of life in the digital age include: Currently, there’s no way to completely erase the risks of personal data exposure online. The good news is that there are proactive measures you can take to address your data privacy concerns and enhance your cybersecurity. Here are a few steps that you can take to protect your private data online. Personal data removal tools like DeleteMe control what personal information you share online by monitoring your data and where it appears, and removing your personal information from data broker databases. Most websites and online payment portals give you the option to use two-factor authentication. This cybersecurity measure makes it more difficult for your personal data to fall into the wrong hands. VPNs like CyberGhost cloak your IP address and geolocation and prevent tracking cookies. This makes it more difficult for your online activity to unintentionally reveal sensitive personal information. The free Personal Data Scan tool from What Is My IP Address scans people searches and over 80+ data brokers to help you discover where your personal data appears online and how to control this. For more on data privacy concerns and how to protect your consumer rights, visit What Is My IP Address . 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