Ipsos Poll: Americans Agree that Government Collects Too Much of Our Data

​Privacy is a big theme around here (it’s even in our name), so we are alert to reputable polling on the subject. The latest such poll from Ipsos confirms that privacy is a concern for Americans of all political stripes.
 
Among the survey’s key findings? When shown the statement, “The government collects too much data about me,” majorities in every group agreed:
 

• Republicans: 61%
• Democrats: 70%
• Independents: 68%

 
That question covers collecting our data. When Ipsos asked if it is acceptable for government agencies to share that data with private companies, landslide majorities declared it was not okay:
 

• Republicans: 85%
• Democrats: 89%
• Independents: 94%

 
For good measure, the pollsters flipped that question and asked if it is acceptable for private companies to share our data with government agencies? Ipsos found nearly identical levels of scorn. This is not a theoretical concern – a dozen agencies, ranging from the IRS to the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and the Pentagon, routinely purchase and access Americans’ personal data from third-party data brokers. Americans are coming to appreciate this, which is why a YouGov poll showed that four out of five Americans favor a warrant requirement before federal agencies can inspect our private information.
                                                                                            
But the real gem of the Ipsos survey is to be found in a follow up question. Having established that Americans care about their data, respondents were asked to name which types of data come to mind that they consider the most personal. Out of 12 possible categories, the top four of the greatest concern are:
 

• Financial: 60%
• Health: 37%
• Credit card usage: 32%
• Biometric identifiers: 32%

 
If there’s a surprise to be found anywhere in the results, it may be in this crosstab nugget: Americans ages 18-34 ranked biometrics and location-based data even higher than health information. It seems the digital generation is keenly aware of how they’re being tracked by their faces, irises, and fingerprints. It may be the case that older Americans tend to think of data and privacy in terms of records, whereas the youngest know it’s about much more than that.
 
The Ipsos findings are probably no surprise to the private companies and government agencies that covet our personal data. But we hope Members of Congress will pay attention to these results and respond to the passionate concerns of their constituents.

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