Overcoming Privacy Inertia to Protect Data
With so many organizations relying on cloud computing, keeping data protected while using cloud services has become a high priority. Yet, even though there is a greater emphasis on overall cybersecurity for the cloud, data privacy has been slower to evolve. That could be for any number of reasons – the emphasis on data privacy is a rising issue, but privacy regulations are more like alphabet soup than a well-coordinated effort; staff either aren’t trained on data privacy or think that if good security solutions are in place, data privacy takes care of itself.
Awareness of data privacy, no matter where the information is used or stored, has taken on new significance as people spend more time online for work, for pleasure and for doing tasks they once did in person. This increased online activity has led to 72% of Americans saying they are either very concerned or extremely concerned about data privacy, according to a new study from Startpage. They are also more aware of how their information is being used by companies to track behaviors, and they don’t like it, with 42% of respondents saying they are uncomfortable with getting ads that target their online habits and personal data like age and sexual identity.
Consumers don’t like the way companies are using their personal data, but they also aren’t doing much to prevent it. Startpage’s study refers to this as privacy inertia.
“Privacy inertia is the notion that despite most consumers having an awareness of how much of their personal data is vulnerable online, many choose not to take action to protect their online privacy,” Robert E.G. Beens, Startpage co-founder and CEO said in an email interview.
Understanding Why Consumers Have Privacy Inertia
For the study, Startpage sought the expertise of Timothy A. Pychyl, an associate professor of Psychology at Carleton University, and a leading researcher on procrastination.
“’Privacy inertia’ shares many similarities with other irrational delays in our lives. When we don’t know what to do, we often delay doing anything, despite expecting to be worse off for this delay, which is, of course, the irrational self-defeating aspect of procrastination,” Pychyl said in a formal statement about the study.
“In addition, procrastination research makes it clear that present-self would rather put off any effort to future-self. Despite the best of intentions and even a sense of urgency to get something done, if the task at hand is aversive in some way because we don’t know what to do, or it’s perceived as boring, frustrating or effortful, we’re more likely to put it off.”
This type of inertia is harmful to both businesses and consumers. Vulnerable and unprotected customer data can be an easy target for hackers, and a data breach of these files can lead to violations of data privacy regulations and result in huge fines and loss of reputation.
Consumers, on the other hand, can become a direct target for hackers, as well as subject to aggressive profiling and tracking from big tech, an egregious assault on our privacy that has irrevocable repercussions.
Be More Proactive Against Privacy Inertia
Organizations need to take the lead in privacy inertia and assist consumers in their efforts to protect their personal information.
“It’s important for companies to establish trust among their customers, and today there is no better way than responsibly handling their online data,” said Beens, who suggested the following four ways privacy-conscious companies can demonstrate ethical data management practices:
- Privacy by design – Bake customer data privacy protection into the business strategy from the start.
- Privacy by default – While laws such as CCPA and GDPR have forced companies into action, they can go a step further by opting all customers out by default, giving them more choice.
- Data control – Collect only the data you need and offer customers options to maintain control over their data.
- Accountability and transparency – Articulate clearly to customers how you plan to use, share and store their data.
“A significant factor in individual inaction is rooted in not knowing the appropriate next steps to take to protect their privacy online,” Beens added.
Organizations should take the step to help educate their customers on the resources and tools available to better protect their personal data privacy. Having that information will help consumers eliminate privacy inertia, which, in turn, will help companies do a better job protecting data.
