UK population wises up to data protection

Recent media attention on information loss has made the British public more astute

Two thirds (66 per cent) of British adults have less trust in the government institutions that look after their information as a result of recent stories about data breaches, according to a survey by the British Computer Society (BCS).

As much as 71 per cent of respondents said it is very important to be asked for their consent if other organisations or Government departments want to access their data.

Recent media attention on information loss has made the British public more astute, according to BCS chief executive David Clarke.

"Our survey forcibly demonstrates that the public do care about accountability, visibility, consent, access and the stewardship of personal information that is collected about them," he said.

Seventy seven per cent of British adults said they wanted the automatic right to correct false personal data .

Fifty seven per cent of respondents said it is very important that the handling of data by Government employees should be on a sliding scale of seniority – the more sensitive the information, the more senior the employee should be.