- From: Karl Dubost <kdubost@mozilla.com>
- Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 22:09:08 -0400
- To: "public-privacy (W3C mailing list)" <public-privacy@w3.org>
FYI On Thu, 18 Jul 2013 02:06:21 GMT In Survey: Almost half of Japanese against companies browsing personal data - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun At http://ajw.asahi.com/article/economy/business/AJ201307170052 Survey: Almost half of Japanese against companies browsing personal data July 17, 2013 By HARUKA TAKASHIGE/ Staff Writer Nearly 50 percent of consumers in Japan do not want companies to browse their personal information, despite government efforts to promote commercial use of "big data" for economic growth, according to a government white paper released on July 16. To investigate how consumers feel regarding the use of personal data, the communications ministry surveyed 1,000 people each in Japan, Britain, the United States, France, South Korea and Singapore. The results show that 49.4 percent of Japanese feel uncomfortable if companies browse their individual information, the largest number of the six countries. Japan was followed by 44.6 percent in South Korea and 37.1 percent in Singapore. Japan also had the highest percentage of those who said they feel uncomfortable if companies analyze their personal data, at 42.2 percent. South Korea and Singapore followed with 37.4 percent and 37.1 percent, respectively. While 74.6 percent of Japanese said they feel uncomfortable if companies trade their personal information, only some 50 percent of consumers in Britain, the United States, France and Singapore responded in the same manner. Among South Koreans, 68.3 percent said they would feel uncomfortable. Asked how they feel if their real names are disclosed to third parties when they use social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, 57.3 percent of Japanese said they cannot accept it under any circumstances, two to three times higher than the percentage for the other five nations. The Japanese government says if companies analyze big data and utilize the results for improving efficiency and sales promotion, it will lead to new industries and services, contributing to economic growth. But the white paper shows that Japanese are extremely sensitive to the way their personal information is handled, and companies that want to use such data should be cautious. By HARUKA TAKASHIGE/ Staff -- Karl Dubost, Mozilla http://www.la-grange.net/karl/moz
Received on Thursday, 18 July 2013 11:58:46 UTC