Consumers 'want £1m for their data'

The fickle nature of consumer attitudes towards personal data have been exposed in the laughable findings of a new study which claims half of the UK population would not sell their online information for less than £1m.
The study, carried out by Swiss datacentre Artmotion, makes a mockery of the current market, where consumers are actually giving out their most intimate details hand over fist just to download an app.
Details of the survey’s methodology have not been released but given the huge sums involved it would appear participants were offered the values as part of multiple choice answers.
“Understanding the true value of online data in the UK” was commissioned to investigate the UK public’s attitudes towards digital privacy. It found that 49% of those surveyed said they would only be willing to sell their personal or company data for £1m or more.
Meanwhile a further 10% said they would be willing to sell their personal or company data for £100,000-£1m, 10% said £10,000 to £100,000, 13% said £1,000 to £10,000, 3% said £500 to £1,000, 6% said £1 to £500, and the remaining 9% said they would give away their data for free.
Artmotion founder and chief executive Mateo Meier said: “Our research explodes the myth that people don’t really care about online privacy. However, many consumers are failing to take basic steps that would greatly increase their online security. This means that the data they value so highly could easily fall into the wrong hands with potentially disastrous consequences.”
The Future of Digital Trust study carried out in September last year placed slightly more conservative values on personal data, with consumers valuing a single piece of information – such as an email address or location data – at up to £20.
Meanwhile one report published in the Financial Times exposed the reality of the situation, with the cost of details of someone intending to buy a car, for example, put at $0.002, while the cost of knowing someone’s movie choice was $0.003.