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2018 Unruly GDPR Study: How Can Advertising Rebuild Consumer Trust?

GDPR legislation looks set to put control of data collection and usage back in the hands of consumers – but do they even know it’s happening?

In order to get a sense of how the public actually feels about these changes, we conducted the 2018 Unruly GDPR Consumer Trust Study – surveying 4,000 consumers in eight markets across the EU, US and Asia-Pacific.

The findings reveal low levels of consumer awareness about the new regulations, but also show that businesses have much to gain if they can demonstrate responsible behaviour with customer data.

  • 93% of consumers in non-EU countries would like at least one of the rules brought about by GDPR to be in effect in their country.
  • 63% of consumers worldwide trust companies more when they are clear about how and where their data is used
  • 60% of people worldwide believe that more than half the news they read on social media is fake – this number is highest in Australia (58%)
  • Worldwide, consumers are most comfortable sharing biometric data
  • Less than 1/3 of consumers in the UK, Germany and Sweden trust companies to ask their permission before sharing data with third parties

The message of the research is clear; companies must be more transparent about data usage if they want to win back and retain consumer trust – but given low levels of awareness around the changes made by GDPR, it seems there’s also a communication gap between brands and their customers.

‘Clarity & Trust: Consumers want it, have you got it?” presents the findings of the 2018 Unruly GDPR Consumer Trust Study and offers brands and publishers key tips for making customers and reader comfortable sharing data.