Not all data are created equal - Data sharing and privacy

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased our online presence and unleashed a new discussion on sharing sensitive personal data. Upcoming European legislation will facilitate data sharing in several areas, following the lead of the revised payments directive (PSD2), which enables payments data sharing with third parties. However, little is known about what drives consumers’ preferences with different types of data, as preferences may differ according to the type of data, type of usage or type of firm using the data. Using a discrete-choice survey approach among a representative group of Dutch consumers, we find that next to health data, people are hesitant to share their financial data on payments, wealth and pensions, compared to other types of consumer data. Second, consumers are especially cautious about sharing their data when they are not used anonymously. Third, consumers are more hesitant to share their data with BigTechs, webshops and insurers than they are with banks. Fourth, a financial reward can trigger data sharing by consumers. Last, we show that attitudes towards data usage depend on personal characteristics, consumers’ digital skills, online behaviour and their trust in the firms using the data.

Keywords: consumer data; data sharing; banks; BigTechs; insurers; webshop; trust, digital skills
JEL codes D12; E42; G21; G22; G23

Working paper no. 728