New research released today shows that millions may submit Subject Access Requests (SARs) to find out what personal information businesses hold on them after the General Data Protection Act goes live in May 2018.
The research, conducted by Exonar, a leading provider of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) data mapping and data inventory solutions, set out to identify what people know about how their privacy rights will change in May 2018. The findings showed that 70% of people have no idea about the changes. However, once GDPR and the term SAR was explained to them, 57% said they would raise a SAR.
The research also considered which sectors will be hit hardest. Financial services topped the charts with a third of people saying they would submit a SAR to their bank and 16% to their credit card provider. This could result in around 21million* current account holders raising a SAR and around a further 8million** credit card holders also asking for information held on them.
Other targets for SARs included mobile network providers (11%), social media companies (16.4%), insurance companies (8%), and loan companies (5%), 8% a utility firm, and 5% a retailer. A further 9% would raise a SAR on a current employer, 4% on an ex-employer.
Julie Evans, COO at Exonar, said companies need to make the most of the time they have before the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) starts its consumer publicity campaigns: “Companies often ask us how they can predict how many SARs they will receive. It’s an impossible task as so much of it will come down to consumer awareness.
“At the moment all communication efforts from the ICO are focused on getting companies ready for the GDPR, but come next Spring, we expect the focus to change as they start to inform the general public about the changes. If the ICO succeeds in raising consumer awareness then, as this research shows, the floodgates will open. Businesses really do need to make the most of the remaining months to get their data house in order.”
The research found that people are worried about how their data is managed today: 27% are concerned their data could be sold, and another 27% said they worried about hacking.
As part of the research, it was explained that a SAR could run into hundreds of pages***. Almost a fifth (18%) stated ‘shock’ that a company could hold so much about them and everything they have ever done, with 15% saying that if they held that much information they would want to know exactly what it was and a further 10% went as far as to say they’d want companies to forget about them altogether.
There were also environmental concerns: a third of people (31%) said they thought SARs were a waste of paper and would prefer to receive them in a secure digital format – just over a quarter were surprised a SAR wasn’t digitized anyway. 12% said environmental concerns would put them off doing a SAR.
Evans adds: “Going digital should be at the heart of any GDPR strategy. New technologies like data mapping, big data and machine learning will make it easier for businesses to ensure personally identifiable data is easy to locate and secure. Technology can help everyone in a business to follow best practice and avoid the potentially hefty cost of failing to deal with SARs and comply with the GDPR.
“Aside from the cost, relying on manual processes is too high risk. Going digital will make the process of finding and retrieving information quicker and cheaper, and also lessen the environmental impact of completing a SAR request.”
In order to offset the environmental impact of producing paper-based SARs and to encourage organisations to consider moving towards a digital process, Exonar is asking that for every SAR that is produced in paper a tree is planted or a donation is made to the Woodland Trust.
