Survey says 77 per cent plan to take advantage of new ‘right to erasure’

Manchester people will be queuing up to get their personal data edited or deleted once the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force, a survey has revealed.

The regulation, which arrives on May 25, will give all EU citizens greater rights over their personal data.

This includes a right to ask for their data to be edited or deleted – as part of a so-called ‘right to be forgotten’ or ‘right to erasure’.

Businesses in the region are now bracing themselves for exactly what this means and how much it will cost them.

A survey by Crown Records Management, global information management experts, has revealed some stunning results when it comes to how many people could ask for their data to be removed or altered. And it seems those living in Manchester are some of the most determined to protect their data.

The results revealed:

• An incredible 77 per cent in Manchester they could ask for their data to be edited or deleted after May 25 – only Birmingham produced a bigger response
• Up to 29 per cent said they would definitely ask for data to be edited or deleted. This was one of the highest figures in the UK.
• Other regions returned very different results. In Liverpool only 65 per cent will ask for personal data to be edited – and only 18 per cent in Plymouth said they definitely would do so.
• Nationally, 71 per cent said they would (either definitely or possibly) ask a company to edit or delete their data when the new regulation comes into force. In an adult UK population of 52.6 million this could result in an incredible 37.3 million requests.
• Only 8 per cent across the nation gave a straight ‘no’ when asked if they would want data edited or deleted. The figure in Manchester was just 3.4 per cent – one of the lowest in the whole country.

David Fathers, Regional General Manager at Crown Records Management, which has offices in Trafford Park Road, Manchester, said:

“We were all aware that the public is increasingly interested in how their personal data is used and increasingly aware of its value and the dangers of its misuse.

“But for so many people in Manchester to indicate they will ask for data to be edited or deleted will come as a shock to many businesses in the region.

“It is hard to speculate why those in Manchester are more concerned about personal data than other regions. But with more than 200 manufacturing firms there and a strong information processing sector, perhaps there is greater awareness of the issue.

“The bottom line is that there could be a big challenge ahead for UK businesses. Even if only the quarter of people nationwide who answered ‘definitely’ follow through with that intention then we could be looking at more than 16 million requests nationwide - which is an eye-watering figure.”

The type of data those in Manchester will want edited or deleted was interesting, too.

Data held for financial, banking and credit card information came out top on 70 per cent, followed by 60 per cent for data held for marketing and mailing lists.

“These were the top two answers in most cities,”

“But people in Manchester were also concerned about health data on 59 per cent and shopping and purchase data on 54 per cent.

“This shows just how many types of personal data are under discussion here. Few businesses will be unaffected.

“Companies in Manchester should already know what data they have, where it is, how it can be accessed and how it can be edited - but the GDPR regulations will make this mandatory. A full data audit now before the regulation comes in is the very minimum required to start the preparation process.

“There are also significant budget implications to consider if they are going to cope with the volume of requests which come their way.”