A large majority of the 27,000 respondents to the Eurobarometer survey say that the privacy of their personal information, their online communications and their online behaviour is very important. In particular:
- More than seven in ten (72%) state that it is very important that the confidentiality of their e-mails and online instant messaging is guaranteed.
- More than seven in ten respondents (71%) think it is not acceptable for companies to share information about them without their permission, even if it helps companies to provide new services they might like.
- Almost eight in ten say (78%) it is very important that personal information on their computer, smartphone or tablet can only be accessed with their permission.
- Almost two thirds of respondents (64%) say it is unacceptable to have their online activities monitored in exchange for unrestricted access to a certain website, while four in ten (40%) avoid certain websites because they are worried their online activities would be monitored.
- Almost nine in ten respondents (89%) agree with the proposal that the default settings of their browser should stop their information from being shared.
- Nine in ten agree they should be able to encrypt their messages and calls, so they can only be read by the recipient (90%).
- More than six in ten (61%) say they receive too many unsolicited commercial calls. An almost similar number (59%) would like commercial calls to be displayed with a special prefix.
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