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1994 Equifax/Harris Consumer Privacy Survey

A Message From Equifax

Introduction

Executive Summary: Major Findings Of The Survey

Equifax is proud to present the 1994 Equifax-Harris Consumer Privacy Survey, the fifth in a series of such surveys we have sponsored since 1990. These surveys give substance to our pledge to provide Information Leadership for the Information Age.

One significant way in which we fulfill this pledge is through our sponsorship of consumer privacy surveys. Conducted by Louis Harris & Associates, these surveys are highly respected and widely referenced by a vast array of publics: legislators, regulators, consumer and special interest groups, academicians, business and professional associations, and the media.

In addition to the general privacy questions we track each year, I think you will see that this year's survey also provides some very interesting findings on consumer attitudes about several issues that are timely and relevant to current public policy debates. In particular, the survey sheds new light on consumer opinion about establishing a national work identification system and card, a national health care identifier, and what constitutes fair criteria for underwriting automobile insurance policies.

As an information leader, the Equifax commitment to consumers is to provide uncompromising care and integrity in the handling of sensitive, personally identifiable consumer information and to establish and adhere voluntarily to a strong and meaningful set of fair information practices. To that end, last year we published the Equifax Code, specifying our beliefs about consumer rights to privacy and cataloging the actions we have taken to put those beliefs into practice. More recently, we developed and pub licized a stringent set of health information privacy principles to govern our initiatives and emergence as a major player in the health information services industry. Similarly, as we expand our operations around the world, as the global information source, we have committed to developing a set of worldwide privacy principles to govern our practices in every market we serve.

A well-earned privacy reputation is fast becoming a competitive edge, and we are proud that Congress, our customers, and many of our critics have applauded the pro-consumer and privacy-sensitive practices Equifax has put into place, setting a standard for the industry and a model for government.

Delivering information solutions is our business. So, to maintain our reputation and competitive advantage, Equifax must know consumer attitudes about a wide range of privacy-related issuesso that we can make good business decisions on products and services we offer and so that we can continue to contribute to the public policy debates and national, and even international, dialogue about concerns of importance to all stakeholders. Our privacy surveys have served us well in both capacities.

Planning and conducting surveys of this magnitude and producing the final report is a formidable task, requiring many months of detailed work. For their significant contribution in bringing this report to fruition, I thank noted privacy expert Dr. Alan Westin, Columbia University professor and academic advisor to the survey; Dr. Joy Sever, Project Director, Louis Harris & Associates; and John Ford, Equifax Project Manager.

At Equifax, we believe that achieving Information Leadership for the Information Age demands real innovation. It demands cooperation so that business, consumers, and government can more easily bridge differences and increase mutual understanding. We believe our consumer privacy surveys contribute to that cause.

The 1994 Equifax-Harris Consumer Privacy Survey is the fifth in a series of Equifax-sponsored surveys conducted to track important attitudes and opinions of the American public as they relate to privacy, and to identify new issues that may be of concern to Americans and to gauge their opinions on these issues.

Like the surveys that have preceded it -- The Equifax Report on Consumers in the Information Age (1990), the Harris-Equifax Consumer Privacy Surveys 1991 and 1992, and the Harris-Equifax Health Information Privacy Survey (1993) -- this 1994 survey documents the American public's privacy concerns and attitudes toward technology, business, and government. In addition, it reports on the American public's confidence in the groups and organizations that handle personal information, their acceptance of national identification systems for work and health care, how they feel about having their medical records used for medical research, and how safeguards would affect their opinions about such systems and uses. This survey also looks at the American public's views on the types of information auto insurance companies and utility companies should use when making decisions affecting applicants and consumers.

The full report not only identifies important demographic differences as they relate to these issues, but also examines the role of attitudes such as those toward the government and health organizations and past behaviors such as prior experience with social security number misuse and driving accidents.

The survey results are based on a total of 1005 telephone interviews conducted from August 17 to September 4, 1994, with adults 18 years and older. The adults surveyed represent a cross-section of adults in the 48 contiguous United States. Completed interviews were weighted according to age, education, race, and sex to bring the sample profile in line with the overall profile of adults in the 48 contiguous United States. A more detailed description of the methodology, including weighting, is provided in Appendix A. A copy of the questionnaire with top-line results can be found in Appendix B.

Acknowledgments

Louis Harris and Associates gratefully acknowledges the continued guidance provided by Dr. Alan Westin in all aspects of this and previous surveys conducted for Equifax Inc.

A Note on Reading the Tables

The base for each question is the total number of adults answering that question. All base sizes shown in the tables are unweighted; percentages are weighted. An asterisk (*) on a table signals a value of less than one-half percent (0.5%). A dash (-) represents a value of zero. Percentages may not always add to 100 because of computer rounding or the acceptance of multiple answers from respondents. Note that in some cases results may be based on small sample sizes (N less than 50). This is typically true whe n sub-group comparisons are made. Caution should be used in drawing any conclusions from the results based on these small samples.

Public Release of Survey Findings

All surveys conducted by Louis Harris and Associates are designed to adhere to the code of standards of the Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO) and the code of the National Council of Public Polls (NCPP). Because data from the survey will be released to the public, any release must stipulate that the complete report is also available.

The 1994 survey documents the American public's privacy concerns and attitudes toward technology, business and government.

Concerns over technology and lack of faith in the government increase, while attitudes toward business remain positive.

The American public favors having a national work identification card for citizens and non-citizens.

With certain safeguards, almost 8 of 10 Americans would be willing to have a national ID number assigned to them.

A large majority of Americans believe that an applicant's credit history is a fair criterion for auto insurance underwriters to use.

The points contained in this summary highlight the major findings of the 1994 survey. Additional information and commentary can be found in the body of the report.

Major Findings Of The Survey

At 84%, a record number of Americans are either very or somewhat concerned about threats to their personal privacy. This figure is the highest recorded since the question was first asked in 1978.
The percentage of Americans who say they are "very" concerned about threats to their personal privacy has reached 51% and represents a 20% increase since 1978.
Concern over technology and lack of faith in the government increase, while attitudes toward business remain positive.
Nearly half of the American public (46%) agree that "the way one votes has no effect on what the government does," more than half (53%) agree that "technology has almost gotten out of control," and 80% disagree that "government can generally be trusted to look after our interests." Each of these figures represents an increase since 1978.
In contrast to these signs of disillusionment, most Americans (76%) agree that "business helps us more than it harms us."
Among a list of 13 groups and organizations, doctors and nurses rank first in terms of the percentage of Americans who are "very" confident (43%) that this group properly handles personal and confidential information.
In contrast, companies that offer products or services through the mail or via the telephone ranked last. Only 5% and 4%, respectively, are "very" confident that these groups handle personal information properly.
Although only 7% of the American public say that their Social Security number has been used in ways that embarrassed or harmed them, 60% are concerned that "some person or organization might do this today" (31% "very" concerned).
The majority of past victims of Social Security number misuse (42%) indicate that the type of harm or embarrassment they experienced was credit-related (e.g., "used by someone else to charge things to credit card" 19%; "number mistakenly entered into computer, caused credit problems" 12%).
The majority of those surveyed (60%) are at least somewhat accepting of a national computer file of the names and Social Security numbers of all citizens and aliens authorized to work in the United States.
More than one third (37%) of those who initially found the national computer file proposal not acceptable said that they would change their view if a federal law restricted access to this file solely for immigration control and employment verification. This brings to 75% the extent of the acceptance of a national computer file.
More than half (53%) of the American public favor "the government requiring a National Work Identification Card for all working Americans, both citizens and non-citizens." This represents an increase of ten percentage points since 1990.
If the federal law made it illegal for any government agency or private organization to require this card for purposes other than verifying a person's eligibility for work or their status as a legal resident, 25% of those initially opposed would change their view. This increases the total of those who would favor a National ID Card to 64%.
After hearing reasons why any national health care insurance program would need a health identification system, 60% of those surveyed said that they would be at least somewhat willing to have an ID number assigned to them.
Nearly one third (31%) of those initially unwilling to have a number assigned to them, said that they would change their view if a federal law provided criminal penalties for any misuse of this number. Of the 267 respondents still unconvinced even with criminal penalties as a safeguard, slightly more than one quarter (26%) would change their view if a federal law gave people the specific right to sue any organization or person for damages if they used the ID number improperly.
Therefore, with these two safeguards in place, 79% of Americans would be willing to have a national ID number assigned to them.
If Congress and the President decided that some kind of national identifier is needed to administer a health care insurance system, two thirds (66%) would find their present social security number acceptable (34% "very" acceptable), 62% would find a unique physical identifier acceptable (32% "very" acceptable), while 57% would find a new national health number acceptable (22% "very" acceptable).
After hearing a description about how medical records are used by medical researchers to study the causes of disease, 41% of those surveyed said that they would find it at least somewhat acceptable if their records were used for such research.
If a federal law made it illegal for any medical researcher to disclose the identity or any identifiable details of a person whose health records had been used, 28% of those who were initially opposed to having their records used would change their position, increasing the acceptance of this practice to over half of those surveyed (58%).
When asked about the information that should be considered when auto insurance companies decide to issue auto insurance policies, the American public distinguishes clearly between information that is relevant and that which is not. Among a list of 14 items that auto insurance companies might consider in their decision to issue auto insurance policies, 89% of those surveyed feel it is fair to consider past convictions for driving while intoxicated, 88% feel it is fair to consider serious accidents, and 63% feel it is fair to consider listing of paying bills.
In contrast, less than one in ten feel it "very" fair to consider the applicant's marital status (9%), whether the applicant smokes tobacco products (9%), whether the applicant served in the military (9%), educational background (8%), and race or nationality (4%) when decisions about auto insurance policies are being made.
Nearly nine in ten (89%) of those surveyed think that an auto insurance applicant's record of driving offenses should be collected and verified so that applicants who are good drivers pay lower premiums, and 69% think that an applicant's record of paying bills should be collected and verified so that good credit risks pay lower premiums.
Nearly half (47%) of those who were initially opposed to collecting information on driving offenses and/or paying bills said they would change their position if all applicants denied insurance or charged a higher rate because of their record on driving or paying bills could examine at no cost the information collected about them and could challenge anything that was not correct.
Fifteen percent of Americans have had their utility service disconnected because they failed to pay their bills when due.
Nearly nine in ten (89%) of Americans feel that it is acceptable for utility companies to "collect past, overdue utility bills from the applicant" when a consumer applies for service (52% "very" acceptable). A majority (62%) feel it is acceptable to "inform other utilities to which an applicant applies of the applicant's failure to pay overdue utility bills" (26% "very" acceptable).