1996 Equifax/Harris Consumer Privacy Survey
A Message From Equifax
Since publication of our landmark consumer privacy survey in 1990, one
of our primary objectives for each of the ensuing surveys has been to identify
consumer attitudes about information privacy issues and then contribute
that consumer voice to the ongoing and expanding dialogue on relevant public
policy issues. Another less abstract objective has been to field a survey
questionnaire the answers to which could provide valuable input to us and
our customers as we consider new products, services, procedures or new
applications for existing products.
We believe the 1996 Equifax-Harris Consumer Privacy Survey accomplishes
both objectives. We are proud to present this report, the seventh in our
series of national information privacy surveys conducted by Louis Harris
& Associates.
This report is particularly timely, especially given recent legislative
and regulatory actions, both domestic and international. First, on September
30th, 1996, in the waning moments of its second session, members of the
104th Congress passed legislation to reform the 1970 federal Fair Credit
Reporting Act. The Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act of 1996 is the
culmination of more than five years of negotiation on the issue of fair
information access, collection, and use. Acknowledged by consumer groups
and business as an excellent piece of compromise legislation, the new law
codifies much of what the credit industry had already voluntarily put into
practice. Our series of surveys has consistently addressed the information
privacy issues to determine what practices consumers find acceptable. This
1996 survey is no exception.
From a regulatory standpoint, the Federal Trade Commission has established
consumer identification fraud as a key initiative. The FTC is working with
a variety of organizations, including Equifax, in an effort to develop
meaningful guidelines to deal with fraud detection, prevention, resolution
and education issues. Similarly, the US Office of Consumer Affairs has
established privacy and consumer fraud as its key focus for 1997. In the
1996 survey, consumers speak out about privacy and the kinds of information
collection and use they find acceptable in the prevention of fraud. We
believe this data will be useful in dealing with these public policy issues.
As an international corporation with operations or product presence
in 35 countries, we are looking at developing a strong and meaningful set
of global information privacy practices or information quality standards
for each of the major international markets in which we operate. The European
Union Directive requires third party countries to have an adequate standard
of privacy protection in order for EU member states to allow transborder
data flow. Accordingly, the 1996 survey also provides some insight useful
to U.S.-based international businesses for dealing with the potential impact
of the European Union Directive on transborder data flow.
Vocal groups in both Europe and the United States believe the United
States should establish a central government office or separate data protection
office for the enforcement of information privacy rules. The 1996 survey
explores this topic, finding that the American public clearly prefers the
existing U.S. system of privacy protection versus the establishment of
a federal privacy commission of the type common in Europe. The debate about
the "adequacy" of our privacy protection system will no doubt
continue; we hope that our survey provides the means to add the consumer
voice to that debate.
One theme of previous "Messages from Equifax" has been that
a well-earned privacy reputation is a competitive edge, and Equifax has
strived to earn that reputation. What is becoming increasingly more apparent
is that no longer is privacy a competitive edge; rather, like product quality,
it is a customer and consumer expectation.
Our survey, therefore, explores the degree to which consumers find acceptable
a variety of business practices across a number of industries. For example,
we examined consumer attitudes about the use of information in credit reporting,
insurance prescreening, credit scoring, medical data for general healthcare
research, as well as on the Internet and on-line services. Some of the
findings may surprise you and will likely form the basis for further dialogue.
For their significant efforts in planning and executing this survey
and subsequent report, we thank noted privacy expert Dr. Alan F. Westin,
Columbia University professor and academic advisor to the survey; Dr. Joy
Sever, Project Director, Louis Harris & Associates; and John Ford,
Equifax Vice President and Project Director.
In sum, in sponsoring these studies, we seek to increase the understanding
by information privacy stakeholders (business, consumers, government, academia,
and the media) about the balance needed between the benefits of fair information
use on the one hand with legitimate concerns about information privacy
protection on the other hand. At Equifax, we accept as our responsibility
the need to give careful attention to this data in developing our information
policies and practices.
We hope you will find this report of value in pursuing your objectives.
Daniel W. McGlaughlin
President and CEO
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
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