‘In ten years’ time, we will look back with regret at how we handled data’
Nine in ten Dutch people:
Privacy is becoming a luxury and people in the Netherlands feel powerless
87% of people in the Netherlands expect that, in ten years’ time, we will look back with regret at how freely we have shared our personal data. This is the outcome of a nationwide study by IT and business transformation service provider Conclusion among more than 1,000 consumers. In fact, 86% believe that true privacy will have all but disappeared within the next decade.
Privacy under pressure
For many people in the Netherlands, privacy already no longer feels like a given, but rather something you have to be able to afford. As many as 86% believe that online privacy has effectively become a luxury. This sentiment is shared across all age groups, from young people to those aged 70 and over, reflecting the broader expectation that privacy will come under increasing pressure in the years ahead.
Growing dependence on data
Although people recognise that their data is being shared more frequently, many see this as a reality over which they have little control. For instance, 68% fear that they will be required to share even more data in the future in order to participate fully in society. What is more, a significant majority (67%) predict that within ten years, data sharing will be so commonplace that companies will know them better than they know themselves. This expectation is even stronger among younger people (aged 16–29), with nearly three-quarters (71%) believing this will become the norm.
Resignation, but not acceptance
The findings reveal a striking paradox. On the one hand, 87% of people in the Netherlands expect to look back with regret at how we have handled data; on the other, 86% anticipate that privacy will have almost entirely disappeared within the next decade. Awareness of data-related issues is clearly present, yet people feel they have limited influence over how governments and organisations use their data. For organisations working with data and AI, this is an important signal.
Friso Spinhoven, Head of Responsible AI at Conclusion: “It is striking that people in the Netherlands collectively anticipate future regret, while at the same time feeling that these developments are inevitable. This does not point to resignation, but rather to a clear need for greater control over their own data. We are therefore at a tipping point. If we accept that privacy is disappearing, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. At the same time, this research offers a hopeful message: people are not indifferent. They expect governments and businesses to handle their data responsibly. Those who do so — and are transparent about it — can still earn that trust.”
"They expect governments and businesses to handle their data responsibly. Those who do so — and are transparent about it — can still earn that trust."
