Nearly half of Britons (45%) don’t trust Big Tech companies to safeguard their personal data, research from NexGen Cloud has revealed.
The cloud solutions provider commissioned an independent survey among 2,000 UK adults revealing consumers’ growing mistrust in big technology firms. It found that only 24% of individuals believe Big Tech firms have their best interests at heart. This comes amid reports that tech titans are facing increasing scrutiny in the public eye, with a growing number of regulators starting to crack down on Big Tech’s dominant grip over society.
The research uncovered serious misgivings about data privacy among consumers, with the majority of respondents (66%) concerned about how tech giants are able to collect and use their personal information.
The study also found respondents are concerned about the excessive power and influence that Big Tech companies have accumulated. Indeed, nearly half (51%) believe tech giants hold too much control over their personal lives, while the majority (75%) agree that large tech firms have gained excessive power over the technology market.
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Worryingly, the research highlighted the negative impact that Big Tech’s market dominance is having over consumers, with 60% of Britons admitting that they feel like there is little choice but to use technologies provided by tech giants. Despite the monopoly that large tech firms have over the market, 36% of respondents said they made a conscious effort to spend their money with smaller competitors when buying or using technology.
The study also highlighted a strong consensus among respondents that more needs to be done to rein in Big Tech, with 72% believing there is a need for tech giants to be regulated more tightly.
Chris Starkey, founder and director, NexGen Cloud, said: “Our research results are stark and consistent; it shows that a growing number of consumers mistrust tech giants with their personal data and feel threated by the insidious control they exert over their personal lives. Regulating Big Tech companies must therefore take on a new and almost existential urgency to address this imbalance of power globally.
“Big Tech’s unnatural monopoly of the market and increasing civic power poses a looming threat to the core aspects of democracy, and our study highlights consumers’ vulnerability and resignation to the excessive power held by large tech corporations. Now, there is a critical need for the industry to restore consumers’ foundations of trust in technology, and this must begin by building a fairer and decentralised digital landscape”.
