It’s All a Matter of Mindset – Data Protection Through Technology Design as a Competitive Advantage
In March 2026, the Data Protection Foundation released the publication “Businesses and Data Protection: A Snapshot of Public Sentiment in 2026.” In this article, Charlotte Werther summarizes some of the key findings and highlights their relevance to the PriDI project.
How important are your fundamental rights on the Internet, such as data protection, freedom of expression, and privacy rights to you?
A recent survey by the German Data Protection Foundation opens with this question. 90.1% of German citizens surveyed say that their fundamental rights on the internet are important to them; just under 80% of them even rate their fundamental rights as “very important.” The survey included 2,500 respondents from across Germany representing various sociodemographic groups.
Image provided courtesy of the Data Protection Foundation. Available in German only. https://stiftungdatenschutz.org/fileadmin/Redaktion/Dokumente/Umfrage_Unternehmen_und_Datenschutz_Stimmungsbild_2026/SDS_Pressekit_2026.pdf
Data Protection as a Competitive Advantage
According to research by the Data Protection Foundation, data protection not only strengthens trust in brands and companies but also helps safeguard valuable trade secrets and know-how. Data protection can also increase a company’s resilience and thus become a genuine competitive advantage. These findings come from a survey of the second target group: C-level decision-makers in the private sector.
For 48.1% of the private-sector decision-makers surveyed, a high level of data protection is an important location factor and one of the top three reasons for using EU-based applications that offer an appropriate level of data protection.
Bereitstellung der Grafik mit freundlicher Genehmigung der Stiftung Datenschutz. https://stiftungdatenschutz.org/fileadmin/Redaktion/Dokumente/Umfrage_Unternehmen_und_Datenschutz_Stimmungsbild_2026/SDS_Pressekit_2026.pdf
Building Trust Through Data Protection
Control over personal data, the ability to set one’s own privacy settings, and clear and understandable information about how personal data is used – these are the three most important factors that build trust among consumers in Germany. If data is used for third-party purposes or if the collection of data lacks transparency, consumer trust erodes. This is according to a survey by the International Association of Privacy Professionals. A good data protection strategy can therefore increase trust in your company or brand.
Privacy-by-design
Clearly defined roles and legal frameworks, along with rigorous access management, are fundamental data protection measures. These measures can also be easily applied to other types of data, such as trade secrets and know-how. In this way, they protect valuable information from unauthorized access and data leakage. A sound data protection framework applied to trade secrets and know-how therefore helps protect (intangible) assets and thereby strengthen a company’s market position.
For this reason, it makes sense to incorporate data protection from the very beginning. The costs of retroactive adjustments to ensure data protection compliance in processes and products are generally higher than the investment required to implement data protection measures from the outset.
The survey and the study by the Data Protection Foundation support the approach taken in the “Privacy-Enhancing Digital Infrastructures” (PriDI) project. The project’s goal is to embed fundamental values such as privacy and data protection in the spirit of “values by design” from the outset in an open European web index and in digital applications built upon it, such as search engines and AI-powered search.
Charlotte Werther, LL.M., is a lawyer and research associate at the Open Search Foundation e.V. As part of the PriDI project, she focuses on designing an open search infrastructure that complies with fundamental rights.
