Data privacy day 2022: furious brits tell facebook to stop selling their data

Brits call on brands to stop selling their information as part of data privacy day  (Photo: Shutterstock)Brits call on brands to stop selling their information as part of data privacy day  (Photo: Shutterstock)
Brits call on brands to stop selling their information as part of data privacy day (Photo: Shutterstock)

Data Privacy Day 2022

Tomorrow is Data Privacy Day (28th January 2022), and new research has found that more than half of Brits (57%) are shocked and even angry, that tech giants like Facebook were selling their data on, without their permission.

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According to the latest research, almost a third (32%) of people say they wouldn’t agree to privacy policy terms outlined by social media companies. despite already having accepted them when setting up accounts.

What’s more, 57% said they were shocked and angry that tech giants were able to share their data without their permission. Nearly 40% said they were furious brands like Facebook could sell their personal details such as occupation and address.

The impact of sharing data

Surprisingly, 18 – 24-year-olds, the generation many believe to be the most social-media savvy, were the least aware about data-sharing.

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Almost one in four admitted they were shocked their information was being passed elsewhere without their permission. This is compared to just 16% of those aged between 45-55 who were asked the same question.

The reality though is that the data-harvesting goes far deeper than that. Some apps are able to access, and sell everything from a user’s search history to private messages. This totals on average a whopping 52,000 characteristics per user.1

The value of personal data

However, it’s not just that we don’t know where our data is going. LetAlone reveals Brits don’t really know how much their personal information is actually worth.

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On average, a person in the UK said they would want around £250 a year to sell-on all of their private data to a brand. Those in East Anglia and Wales, valued their data more than other regions, with the average person in these areas wanting £332 and £319 respectively.

Keeping data private

LetAlone doesn’t want British data to sell or pass on so third parties can build profiles. It wants users to reap the rewards of their own data and take back control. As such, the company believes data should remain with the user and not be allowed to be collected by others.

Justin Trevan, Co-Founder of Let Alone comments:

“Across the globe, millions of people cannot view, edit or delete how they are profiled online. They have zero share in the billions of dollars generated from brands selling very personal information.

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Some companies claim to share profits from trading user data, but simply selling user data perpetuates the issue; as soon as you’ve sold it, others own it, and the user is no longer in control.

At LetAlone we want to give the power back to the people, providing web users with full visibility, control and ownership of their data, so they can choose how and where access is provided to it, and to whom that access is allowed, but without ever selling the data on to third parties or allowing corporate data hoarding.

We want people to join our fight and be the first to access and use the beta platform where you will gain monetary benefits from allowing access to data.”

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