Americans care about their digital data, but not enough to quit big tech

Americans are worried major tech companies are misusing their digital data — but not enough to do much about it.

Survey results released Monday by IBM's Institute for Business Value found strong majorities of consumers say they have become more worried about how their data is used (81 percent); would like to see more transparency from (89 percent) and regulation of (87 percent) tech giants; and are less trusting of big tech companies than they used to be (75 percent).

But few are willing to change their personal habits to protect their own privacy. Only 16 percent have stopped using a service in response to data misuse. Just 45 percent bother to adjust their account privacy settings. And 71 percent say privacy sacrifices are worth it for the benefits big tech can offer.

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To paraphrase Patrick Henry, give me privacy or give me — wait, this targeted ad is actually exactly the kind of sneaker I want to buy.

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Bonnie Kristian

Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.