MOSCOW, June 2, Sputnik Press-Office — An international Sputnik.Polls survey conducted by ICM Research (UK) for the Sputnik international agency and radio has revealed that Americans and Europeans responding to the survey are highly concerned about the privacy of their personal data. According to the poll, a substantial number of respondents in Europe and the US believe that the world's major social networks and IT companies unlawfully provide user data to the US National Security Agency (NSA).
In response to the question "You may have heard about the scandal following the alleged transfer of user data by major corporations and social networks to the National Security Agency. Which statement reflects your opinion more accurately when it comes to the protection of user data online," almost half of the respondents in Germany (47%) and over one-third of the respondents in France (38%) said they believe that "companies provide the NSA with direct access to user data, which is against the law." In the UK and the US almost one-third of the respondents, 31% and 29% respectively, believe the same.
Only 9% of the total number of respondents acknowledge efforts by international social networks and large IT corporations to protect user privacy. They responded that companies "do everything possible to protect their users online and do not cooperate with government agencies in providing personal data." Only 11% of Americans agreed that major companies do not hand over data to government agencies.
The survey was conducted by ICM Research for Sputnik.Polls, a project of the Sputnik news agency and radio, between March 20 and April 9, 2015, in the UK, France, Germany and the US. The total number of respondents: 4,000 people (1,000 in each country). The selection represents various categories of the population based on gender, age and location.
The confidence interval is +/- 3.1% on average across each country. The confidence level is 95%.
About the Sputnik.Polls Project
The international public opinion project kicked off in July 2014, in partnership with ICM Research, a reputable British pollster. The project involves regular surveys in the United States and Europe on the most sensitive social and political issues.
Sputnik (sputniknews.com) is a news agency and radio network with multimedia news hubs in dozens of countries. Sputnik broadcasts through its websites, analog and digital radio, mobile apps and social media.
