- 8 in 10 Europeans say they don’t trust US or Chinese data handling
- Europeans are more likely to trust their own government over foreign firms
- The desire for homegrown alternatives is rising
Over 8 in 10 Europeans don’t trust US or Chinese tech firms to handle their data appropriately, a new Politico European Pulsepoll has found.
European distrust of Chinese tech and businesses is longstanding, largely due to fears that the Chinese government could compel companies to hand over user data for nefarious purposes.
But the same sentiment has grown for US tech companies, leading Europeans to seek out domestic alternatives to software typically dominated by American companies.
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The poll, which surveyed citizens from Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, Italy, and Poland, found that 84% of respondents don’t trust American tech companies to responsibly handle their data, with the number rising to 93% when asked the same about Chinese tech companies.
When it comes to domestic trust, 45% of respondents said they trusted their own national government with their data, with just over half (51%) stating that they trust European tech companies to handle their data responsibly. Belgians were the most likely to trust European companies, with 59% believing EU firms would handle their data responsibly.
The most mistrusting of foreign tech companies were the Germans, with 91 distrusting US companies, and 98% distrusting Chinese companies. On the other hand, Polish people were the most trusting of US companies (38%) and Chinese companies (20%).
(Image credit: POLITICO/Cluster17)
The European Union (EU) is fiercely protective over its data. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) places strict rules on how the data of European users is handled by companies – even those based outside of the EU. Companies handling European data that violate GDPR rules can face heavy fines, and refusal to pay can lead to legal action and operational bans.
The protections are so robust that President Donald Trump has labelled EU regulations as “a form of taxation.” Trump recently ordered US diplomats to lobby against data regulations, including GDPR, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio labelling GDPR regulations as “unnecessarily burdensome data processing restrictions and cross-border data flow requirements” in an internal diplomatic cable.
The EU has recognized that some aspects of its data protection regulations, including GDPR, have somewhat hindered European competitiveness and AI innovation with proposals made to water down regulations. On the other hand, European regulations remain far more robust than those in place in the US and China, whose authorities can compel companies to hand over user data.
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