Two thirds of European internet users have concerns about storing private data with American technology companies. This is the result of a new study on Mobility, Data Protection and Encryption conducted by Convios Consulting and commissioned by GMX among 1,000 consumers in six European markets including the UK. Within Europe immense differences can be found. Nine out of ten (86 percent) of the users in Spain admitted that they are worried about storing their personal data with US technology organisations. Germany and Austria follow with 70 percent each. However, Britons are the least concerned compared with its European siblings with 45 percent of respondents expressing concerns about data privacy and security.

1. STUDY ON DATA
PROTECTION AND
ENCRYPTION
Conducted by Convios Consulting GmbH on behalf of GMX

2. 2
28%
38%
23%
12%
Yes
Partly
No
Don't know
Two thirds of Europeans have concerns about storing data with Google, Facebook
and other technology companies
European Average: Data protection regulations in the USA differ from those in your country - do you have
concerns about saving private data with American companies?

3. 3
Europe: Data protection regulations in the USA differ from those in your country - do you have concerns
about saving private data with American companies?
UK France Germany Spain Austria Switzerland
Yes 19% 31% 27% 43% 22% 24%
Partly 26% 29% 43% 43% 48% 41%
No 36% 20% 22% 12% 24% 23%
Don't know 20% 20% 9% 2% 6% 12%
Mistrust of US companies is biggest in Spain

4. 4
European Average: Do you know what e-mail encryption is essentially about?
44%
56%
Yes No
More than half of Europeans do not know the essentials of encryption

5. 5
UK France Germany Spain Austria Switzerland
Yes 48% 25% 60% 39% 51% 43%
No 52% 75% 40% 61% 49% 57%
Knowledge about encryption is weakest in France and Spain
Europe: Do you know what e-mail encryption is essentially about?

6. Possibility of encryption is a reason to switch e-mail providers
6
22%
62%
11%
5%
Yes
Possibly
Not really
No
European Average: If an e-mail provider were to offer you the possibility of sending encrypted e-mails
securely, so that nobody apart from you and the recipient could read the content, would you then consider
switching to this provider?

7. 7
UK France Germany Spain Austria Switzerland
Yes 21% 19% 25% 27% 23% 21%
Possibly 57% 63% 63% 61% 62% 63%
Not really 17% 11% 7% 9% 11% 11%
No 4% 7% 5% 3% 5% 5%
Europe: If an e-mail provider were to offer you the possibility of sending encrypted e-mails securely, so that
nobody apart from you and the recipient could read the content, would you then consider switching to this
provider?
Willingness to switch providers is highest in Germany and Spain

8. Convios Consulting GmbH analyses the communication behaviour of
internet users for GMX since 2009. For the displayed study 1000 people per
country were surveyed in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Spain, UK
and USA in December 2015.
8