Quarter of adults pay little or no attention to how their data is used, survey finds
By Gráinne Ní Aodha, PA
A quarter of Irish adults pay little or no attention to how their personal data is used by organisations, according to a survey.
Fewer than one in five people said they pay close attention to how their data is used, with just 7 per cent of 18–24s saying they pay serious attention to the use of their data.
The State’s data protection watchdog published its first public attitudes survey on Thursday as it launched its annual report.
The online survey of 1,034 adults was carried out by FleishmanHillard and Empathy Research in May.
It indicated that there was a “significant level of concern” about how children’s personal data is being shared and used online, with 77 per cent of respondents reporting being quite/very concerned.
The second highest concern was over personal data being used to create a digital profile of you, which is shared with, traded or sold to others (76 per cent).
A further 61 per cent said they were quite or very concerned about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and how it is applied.
There was a slightly lower level of concern about social media and tech companies creating profiles to personalise content, and personal data being used for targeted ads (59 per cent and 58 per cent respectively).
Fewer than one in five people reported paying close attention to how their personal data is used by organisations, with around a quarter admitting to hardly any or no attention at all.
“Most people occupy a middle ground of passive awareness, and levels of engagement vary by region and social class,” the research said.
“This suggests that, despite growing concerns over data privacy, public attention to data use by organisations remains shallow, highlighting the need for greater education and engagement efforts.”
Almost three in four adults said it was either quite or very important that organisations comply with data protection requirements, even if this causes a slight delay in releasing the product or service.
Just under half of respondents said they were either very or quite knowledgeable on data protection.
The Data Protection Commission’s annual report for 2024 showed an 11 per cent increase in data breaches last year.
Of notified data breaches, half were due to correspondence being sent to the wrong recipient.
The Data Protection Commission said among the issues featuring “prominently” was correspondence sent to incorrect recipients because of poor operational practices and human error – for example, the wrong document in an envelope addressed to an unrelated third party.
The DPC said it received 7,781 valid data breaches in 2024, of which 7,346 were General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) notifications.
The GDPR total was made up of 3,958 reports about the private sector, 3,137 about the public sector, and 251 from the voluntary and charity sector.
GDPR, a major part of the EU’s data protection and privacy laws, regulates how people’s personal data is used, stored and transferred.
Public sector bodies and banks accounted for the “top 10” organisations with the highest number of breach notifications, while insurance and telecom companies featured prominently in the top 20.
Dr Des Hogan, chairman of the Data Protection Commission, said: “The protection of our personal data is more important than ever as our daily transactions now routinely occur through technologies.
“The DPC’s wide range of activities during the last year points to how fair, consistent regulation can lead to individuals across Europe trusting that their personal data is being used in a lawful and safe manner and that they have control over their data.”