Hungary scores highly for data protection

An EU survey has found that Hungarians are more aware of data protection issues than the average EU citizen, reports origo.hu. While Greece ranked first, Hungarians are more knowledgeable of the organizations responsible for keeping their personal data from the wrong hands.

Hungarians scored among the top three countries in half of the questions asked in the survey. While 28% of EU citizens know that an data protection ombudsman exists, this figure is 46% in Hungary. While 48% of Europeans feel that their personal data are adequately protected, this rate is 54% among Hungarians. Regarding their understanding of stricter regulations for handling sensitive information, such as health data and party affiliation, Hungarians finished in second place.

This year's survey reflects the results of a 2007 study by British organization Privacy International and the Electronic Privacy Information Center of the US, which concluded that in the older democracies of Europe, the quality of data protection is declining, while in the younger ones it is improving. The study is concerned about the rapidly increasing quantity of databases held on citizens and the proliferation of identification and fingerprint scanning equipment used without regard for citizens' personal rights.

• Email
• Save to My Caboodle