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CYPRIOTS are reluctant to disclose personal information and think it is being used without their knowledge despite being the most confident in feeling they have complete control of their online information, an EU barometer has shown.
Only 15 per cent of Cypriots don’t mind disclosing personal information for free services online, the lowest percentage in the EU-27 along with Bulgaria and Greece.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, 56 per cent of Italians said they were fine with disclosing personal data.
Cypriots above all others said they had full control over their online information (changing, deleting or correcting information) at 52 per cent, followed by 45 per cent of Maltese versus an EU average of 26 per cent.
But despite that feeling of control, Cypriots came out top when asked if they knew their information was being used without their knowledge with 72 per cent saying they did, followed by 62 per cent of Romanians on a EU average backdrop of 44 per cent.
Cypriots also came out top when it came to holding themselves responsible for the safe handling of their personal data at 68 per cent, with Ireland and Romania following at 65 per cent versus an EU average of 49 per cent.
Around seven in ten Cypriots usually read privacy agreements and 90 per cent of those change their behaviour after reading privacy statements, second only to the Maltese (91 per cent), well above the EU average of 70 per cent. The Brits on the other hand were the most likely ( 52 per cent) not to change their behaviour after reading the fine print, as well as being the least likely (47 per cent) to actually bother reading privacy terms. They were also second to last in thinking their online information was used without their knowledge (35 per cent).
Around 26,000 people in the EU, including 500 Cypriot residents were interviewed between November and December 2010, in what was the largest survey ever conducted on attitudes on data protection and electronic identity.
