Most Subscribers Would Abandon a Carrier Secretly Collecting Data, Survey Finds

Forty-nine percent of mobile customers say they would stick with their current mobile carrier if they found out it was working with the government to monitor mobile usage in search of terrorist activities, said a KPMG Consumer survey. But 82 percent said they would leave if they found the carrier was “simply accumulating personal information for other reasons without their knowledge.” KPMG surveyed 449 consumers. “With today’s global uncertainty and the fear that Americans can be placed in harm’s way at any moment, it’s not surprising that nearly half of consumers would be comfortable with, and even expectant of, the government monitoring mobile usage in order to catch terrorists before they act,” said Paul Wissmann, national sector leader with KPMG’s Media and Telecommunications practice. “What consumers should be wary of is if the government, or a mobile carrier, begins collecting our personal information for reasons beyond protecting our physical safety. Doing so can directly lead to consumer outrage and can be devastating to mobile carriers’ bottom line.”