Vast majority of Americans and Europeans believe ad-targeting and feed customization are immoral

Cory Doctorow 9:43 am Sun Feb 10, 2019

An RSA survey of 6,000 US and EU adults found that only a minority (48%) believes there is any ethical way to use personal data (that figure rises to 60% when considering US respondents alone); 57% believe that data-breaches are the fault of companies for gathering and retaining data, not the hackers who release it; only 17% believe that ad customization is moral; and only 24% believe that newsfeed customization is moral.

RSA is a once-respected security firm whose reputation was permanently, fatally damaged in 2013 when it was revealed that they had intentionally introduced defects into their products so that the NSA could spy on their customers.

Personalization remains a puzzle: Countless studies have demonstrated that personalized experiences increase user activity and purchasing. However, the survey results showed that respondents do not want personalized services at the expense of their privacy. In fact, a mere 17 percent of respondents view tailored advertisements as ethical, and only 24 percent believe personalization to create tailored newsfeeds is ethical.

The Dark Side of Customer Data [RSA]

83% Of Consumers Believe Personalized Ads Are Morally Wrong, Survey Says [ John Koetsier/Forbes]

(Image: Luma Partners)

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