GDPR and data privacy has been one of the major talking points in 2018 with Facebook firmly in the spotlight on a number of occasions, particularly it’s huge fine received for its involvement in the Cambridge Analytica Scandal, which saw 87 million users’ personal data harvested for political purposes. This has resulted in people around the world distrusting the social media platform with one in three stating the fact, according to a report from Streetbees.
The ‘Re-positioning: The new battle for audience attention’ report also found that all Facebook users (98%) globally will continue to use the platform despite transparency issues around user personal data over the last 12 months.
However, 40% of users in the UK and 53% of users in India said they trust the platform to keep their personal data safe while one in five users in the UK are prepared to pay more for products from an advertiser directly involved in activism. This was reflected with 28% of users in the US feeling the same.
The report was carried out in Q2 and Q3 2018 from over 7,400 people in the UK, US, India China, Kenya, Nigeria, the Philippines and South Africa. According to Streetbees statement, all data were collected by mobile and web surveys with accuracy within five percentage points 19 times out of 20.
“Our research highlights huge misconceptions around the value users put on their data and privacy,” said Oliver May, co-founder at Streetbees.
“Drawing insights from more than 7,000 people around the world, it represents a comprehensive analysis of consumer attitudes towards advertising channels and social media platforms – and indicates the huge drivers of change that will shape the industry in 2019.”