South African online consumers are the second most paranoid in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, following closely on the heels of UK consumers, says a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
The pan-EMEA e-privacy survey was conducted across 11 European countries and in SA. Interviews were split between more experienced online players and newcomers to the Internet.
Overall, the survey reached 2 405 respondents, with approximately 200 interviews conducted in each market. The survey forms part of a larger project directed at researching three overlapping issues - trust, security and privacy.
It`s important to differentiate between privacy and security, says Doug Franke, e-business director, PwC SA. "Privacy is about the protection of personal information, whereas security is more related to protecting information in the business arena."
Ernst Maritz, operational and systems risk management director, PwC, says the issue was brought under the spotlight by the introduction of e-business strategies. "Companies streamlined their value chain, and as a result, had to give greater access to information that sometimes had never before been seen.
"From the customer aspect, companies had to know more information about their customers to be able to provide them with better service - that`s where the issue of protection comes in."
But despite companies` widespread acknowledgement of their duty to protect this sensitive information, more than 50% of SA consumers have concerns about e-privacy. Of that sample, 6% fear unauthorised access to their personal information, while 2% believe their online movements are being monitored.
The survey also found 13% of online consumers professed not to know whom to turn to, should they need to report an invasion of privacy. Some 44% felt their Internet service providers would be able to help, while 15% said they would turn to the police, and 9% to their lawyers.
In highlighting the difference between South African and European consumers, the survey reports that data on politics, bank or credit card details and personal identification are more sensitive to South Africans, while Europeans prove more reluctant to part with behavioural data.
Of the various entities to be entrusted with personal information, the survey found an overwhelming lack of trust in government and foreign companies. Banks and health authorities are the most trusted repositories of personal information.
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