When it comes to data protection, Brits trust Germany more than UK

In what will also make interesting reading for those following the row over the new transatlantic Privacy Shield pact, most people would rather rather have companies in fellow EU countries handle their data, than non-EU regions.

Some 42% of UK workers would trust EU countries to host their data, compared to 22% of those outside the EU.
Of all the EU countries that were asked in the survey (UK, Germany, France), Germany scored the highest (26%), followed by France (21%) and the UK (20%). The Spanish, on just 6%, were bottom of the pile, suggesting that, while Spain might be a popular holiday destination, few are willing to entrust the country with their personal information.

Data protection regime

The Germans have one of the toughest data protection regimes in the world, and at one time its MEPs were demanding that the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) should go further. It also outlawed cold telemarketing back in 2010, meaning consumers have to opt in to receive calls.

The results are a part of a larger report released by Blue Coat Systems, into who do Europeans trust with their data on Dropbox, Gmail and the like.

Robert Arandjelovic (pictured), director of product marketing EMEA at Blue Coat Systems, said: “The EU regulatory landscape is set to radically change with the introduction of the GDPR legislation and this research highlights the level of distrust in countries outside the EU.

“Respondents prefer to keep their data within the EU, supporting new European data protection legislation. More concerning is the fact that almost half of respondents would trust any country to store their data, indicating too many employees simply don’t pay enough attention to where their work data is held.”