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1995 Equifax/Harris Consumer Privacy Survey

A Message From Equifax

Introduction

Executive Summary: Major Findings Of The Survey

Equifax believes it has a responsibility to address current and emerging public policy issues regarding consumer information privacy. We take that responsibility seriously and have undertaken a number of initiatives to give substance to our commitment.

One of those initiatives is our annual consumer privacy survey project we began in 1990. It is with great pride that I commend to your attention our 1995 Equifax-Harris Mid-Decade Consumer Privacy Survey Report.

While this annual survey project receives acclaim from a wide variety of interested publics, our goal continues to be to identify consumer opinion about information privacy across a spectrum of industries and issues. We ask questions that we believe will serve the interests of policy makers and those who implement policy.

Because of the mid-decade timing of this survey, it seemed appropriate for us to look back across the past five years to track some trends in consumer attitudes about privacy as well as to look forward and question consumers about their sense of privacy protections in the future.

Specifically, this survey explored these topics: (1) the ranking of consumer privacy protection among other issues; (2) consumer concerns about threats to their personal privacy today; (3) consumer control over how information about them is being used; (4) their level of trust in government and business; (5) whether consumers have been the victim of improper invasions of privacy; (6) the trend toward computerized medical records; (7) access to medical records; (8) attitude toward and experience with credit repair companies; and (9) privacy protection in the future.

We believe that dialogue based on solid information is a key ingredient for sound public policy decisions. We hope that many of the survey findings will spark informed dialogue about how to balance consumer privacy concerns with consumer desires for the benefits and opportunities businesses can deliver.

I wish to acknowledge the significant contributions of those who have worked diligently to produce this report, including 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 Vice President for Privacy and External Affairs, who managed the overall project.

I hope you find the report useful.

NOTE: To obtain a copy of this survey or to suggest topics for a future Equifax-Harris survey, please write to:

Equifax Inc.
Privacy & External Affairs
1600 Peachtree Street, N.W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30309

The 1995 Equifax-Harris Mid-Decade Consumer Privacy Survey represents the sixth in a series of surveys sponsored by Equifax Inc. measuring the American publics attitudes and opinions on important privacy-related issues.

This mid-decade survey summarizes many of the key privacy attitudes that have been tracked since 1990 (In addition to surveys conducted by Equifax, this report also includes the results from privacy surveys conducted by Louis Harris and Associates, Inc. for Sentry Insurance in 1978, and for Southern New England Telephone in 1983) by Equifax including the publics concerns about threats to personal privacy, their opinions about how personal information about them is handled by companies, the protection of their privacy rights, and their opinions about the effectiveness of voting and whether government can be trusted to look after the publics interests.

Anticipating the privacy issues of the future, this Equifax-Harris 1995 survey also examines the publics attitudes and acceptance of a computerized medical records system, both before and after safeguards are outlined. The awareness and usage of credit repair services, as well as opinions about the regulation of such services, are also examined.

The results of these survey questions are presented for the country as a whole, as well as by key demographic sub-groups. Although for many questions the survey results are consistent across various subsets of the sample, for other questions important differences in opinions are evident. In addition, the responses to these questions provided by people who have and have not been victims of privacy invasions are compared.

The survey results are based on a total of 1,006 telephone interviews conducted during July 5-17, 1995. All interviewing took place with adults 18 years and older, representing 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 these 48 contiguous states. A more detailed description of the methodology, including weighting and a profile of the sample, is provided in Appendix A. A copy of the questionnaire with top-line results can be found in Appendix B.

A Note on Interpreting the Results The base for each question is the total number of respondents answering that question. All base sizes shown in the report 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 when sub-group comparisons are made. Caution should be used in drawing any conclusions from the results based on these small samples.

Finally, reference numbers located in the bottom left corner of the report tables and figures refer to specific tables in the full set of cross-tabulations from which the results were taken.

Public Release of Survey Findings

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

This survey is scheduled to be released October 31, 1995. The data from this survey can be accessed approximately six months after the survey is released from The University of North Carolina. Contact the Louis Harris Data Center, CB 3355, Manning Hall, Room 25, University of North Carolina, NC, 27599-3355; phone (919) 962-0517.

The points contained in this summary highlight the major findings of The 1995 Equifax-Harris Mid-Decade Consumer Privacy Survey. Additional analyses and commentary can be found in the main report.

1. Nearly one out of every two people in the U.S. is "very" concerned about threats to their personal privacy today (47%) and another 35% are "somewhat" concerned.

Although the proportion of people expressing this level of concern has remained fairly stable since 1983, 1995 is the second consecutive year that this proportion has topped 80%. Notably, the percentage of people who say they are very concerned declined from 51% in 1994 to 47% in 1995.

2. Substantial proportions of the American public are concerned about how businesses are handling their personal information with many consumers saying they have refused to provide information.

The vast majority of Americans (80%) agree that "consumers have lost all control over how personal information about them is circulated and used by companies." The number of people who feel this way has been climbing steadily since 1990 when this question was first asked (1990 = 71% who agree, 1991 = 71%, 1992 = 76%, 1993 = 80%).

Nearly six in ten people (59%) say they have at some point "refused to give information to a business or company because [they] thought it was not really needed or was too personal." Five years ago, this figure was only 42%.

More people disagree than agree that their "rights to privacy are adequately protected today by law or business practice" (54% v. 45%). Similar patterns were also evident in 1990, 1991, and 1993 when this question and similar questions were asked, though the gap between those disagreeing and those agreeing has narrowed somewhat.

3. The majority of people do agree, however, that businesses are paying more attention to privacy issues these days and that, overall, business helps more than it harms.

The majority of people (57%) do agree, however, that "businesses handling personal information are paying more attention to privacy issues these days" (17% agree strongly, 40% agree somewhat).

And more people agree than disagree that "in general, business helps us more than it harms us" (74% v. 24%). This level of agreement has remained fairly consistent since 1978 when the question was first asked.

4. The majority of Americans do not trust government to look after the public's interests, and doubt that the government has refrained from invading peoples privacy.

Although the number of people agreeing that "government can generally be trusted to look after our interests" has risen significantly since 1994 (from 20% to 33%), the majority of people continue to disagree (66%).

Twice as many people disagree (62%) as agree (32%) that "since the Nixon Watergate episode in the early '70s, there havent been any really serious attempts by the federal government at invading peoples privacy." These figures remain virtually unchanged since 1990 (64% and 32%).

Nearly half of the population (47%) agrees that "the way one votes has no effect on what the government does." Although the proportion agreeing with this statement has increased since 1978 (from 38%), the figures have remained fairly constant since 1993.

5. More Americans believe they receive fair treatment from businesses (78%) than believe they receive fair treatment from government agencies (67%). Most people would also prefer to let companies regulate themselves when it comes to privacy rather than have government step in.

Nearly three out of four of Americans (72%) agree that "if companies and industry associations adopt good voluntary privacy policies, that would be better than enacting government regulations in this country" (24% agree "strongly" and 48% agree "somewhat").

More people are worried about privacy invasions by government agencies than by businesses today (51% v. 43%), a finding that echoes the results obtained one year ago (52% and 40%).

6. One out of four people in America (25%) say they have been the victim of an improper invasion of privacy. Although this figure was only 19% in 1978, it has not increased since 1991.

The effect of having been victimized lingers for many of the people who have experienced invasions of privacy. Victims of privacy invasions are also:

More concerned with threats to their personal privacy than are people who have been spared this type of invasion (59% v. 43% of non-victims say they are "very" concerned about threats to their personal privacy in America today).
More likely to say they have "refused to give information to a business or company because [they] thought it was not really needed or was too personal" (76% v. 53% among non-victims).
More likely to agree strongly that consumers have lost all control over personal information (61% v. 42%).
Less likely to agree that their privacy rights are being adequately protected (33% with only 8% agreeing "strongly") compared to nearly half (49%) of non-victims who feel protected (13% agree "strongly").
Less likely to perceive fair treatment by both businesses and government than are people who have not experienced an invasion of privacy. (Among victims, 25% and 14% agree "strongly" that they receive fair treatment from businesses and government agencies, respectively, compared to 33% and 21% among non-victims.)

7. The proportion of people agreeing in 1995 that "technology has almost gotten out of control" is higher (63%) than it has ever been.

Until 1994, people were fairly evenly divided in terms of the agreement and disagreement with the statement "technology has almost gotten out of control." In 1995, however, a significant shift toward the agreement end of the scale has occurred (from 53% in 1994 to 63% this year, v. 43% in 1978, 45% in 1990, and 50% in 1993).

8. The vast majority of Americans see the trend toward a computer-based patient medical record system as either "very" beneficial (40%) or "somewhat" beneficial (45%).

In terms of the personal benefits that a computer-based patient record system might provide, the greatest importance is attached to the benefit that enables key medical information to be sent to a doctor treating a person in an emergency situation away from home (86% say this would be "very" important to them).

More than seven in ten people also say that a variety of quality and cost benefits provided by a computer-based patient record system would be "very" important to them.

9. In spite of these benefits, most people say they are either "very" concerned (33%) or "somewhat" concerned (41%) about the potential negative effects of a computerized medical records system. It appears as though these concerns could be abated, however, if meaningful safeguards were to be put in place.

With detailed privacy codes in place, most people say they would be willing to have their medical records in a computerized system (40% say "very" willing, and 40% say "somewhat" willing).

Moreover, 77% of those who had previously said they would be "very" or "somewhat" concerned about possible negative effects, say they would be willing to have their records in the system if these privacy codes were present (35% say "very" willing, and 42% say "somewhat" willing).

10. Virtually everybody (98%) believes that a "patient should be able to obtain a copy of the medical record maintained about him or her by a doctor or health facility."

In response to a similar question asked in 1978, 91% of the public said that "people who want to should have the legal right to see their medical records held by their personal doctor' and by a clinic or hospital.'"

11. Only 20% of the public are aware that the major credit reporting companies like Equifax, Trans Union, and TRW have services designed to help consumers with their credit files. Far more people (38%), however, are aware of "credit repair service companies that claim to be able to remove derogatory information from a consumers credit file for a fee, even though the information is accurate."

Fifteen percent of the people who are aware of credit repair service companies say that they or someone they know has used a credit repair service.

Among those who have used or know someone who has used a credit repair service:

27% say they were "very" satisfied and 30% say they were "somewhat" satisfied with the service, and
nearly nine in ten agree that credit repair services should be regulated by state or federal laws (54% agree "strongly" and 34% agree "somewhat").

12. Among a list of nine consumer issues, "protecting the privacy of consumer information" ranks fifth in terms of the percentage of people who say that the issue is "very" important to them (61%).

Issues deemed more important to the public are: "controlling the cost of medical insurance" (84% say this is "very" important to them), "staying out of excessive debt" (83%), "reducing insurance fraud" (74%), and "controlling the cost of false advertising" (71%).

Issues "very" important to more than half of the public, but relatively less important than "protecting the privacy of consumer information" are: "requiring environmentally safe packaging" (57%), "putting contents and calorie labels on foods sold in stores" (55%), and "having access to credit when you need it" (54%).

13. Although few people are optimistic about privacy protection in the future, a comparison with the responses obtained in 1992 indicates that people may have become a little more optimistic in recent years. When asked their opinion about "how well the privacy of information about consumers will be protected in the year 2000," 16% of the public say it will "get better," 41% say it will "get worse," and 42% say it will "remain about the same."

Although less than one in five people in 1992 and in 1995 said that protection "will get better," the figure is somewhat higher today (16% v. 12% in 1992).

Compared to 1992, far fewer people today think that things will get worse (55% in 1992 v. 41% in 1995), while many more feel that things will "remain about the same" (32% v. 42%).