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Europeans Do Not Trust China, US Tech Companies With Their Data: Survey

Europeans Do Not Trust China, US Tech Companies With Their Data: Survey

A new survey finds that 84 percent Europeans do not trust US-based tech firms to handle their data responsibly.

Written by Akash Dutta, Edited by Ketan Pratap | Updated: 13 April 2026 16:00 IST

Europeans Do Not Trust China, US Tech Companies With Their Data: Survey

Photo Credit: Unsplash/Markus Winkler

The survey comes at a time when the EU is pushing to develop homegrown AI technologies

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Highlights

The survey says mistrust in Chinese tech firms is as high as 93 percent
Individuals from six major European countries participated in the survey
The European Pulse survey polled 6,698 Europeans

A new survey has found that Europeans do not trust Chinese and US-based tech companies when it comes to handling their data. The findings are important at a time when artificial intelligence (AI) companies based out of these two countries have started gaining a user base from across the globe. With individuals in major European countries taking a generally negative outlook towards foreign technology and products, this also becomes an important moment for the EU to bolster homegrown AI technology and push native tools as an alternative.

Survey Says Europeans Do Not Trust AI Firms from China, the US

The findings come from The European Pulse survey, which was conducted by Cluster17 for Politico and beBartlet. The survey is comprehensive, covering a wide range of topics across energy, defence, inequality, mobility, technology, and more. Notably, 6,698 European individuals were polled across ages from six major nations, including Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Poland. The survey is said to be conducted between March 13 and March 21.

As part of the survey, the participants were asked how much they trusted four types of actors to handle their personal data. The surveyed individuals were asked how much they trust four types of actors to handle their personal data: European tech companies, US tech companies, Chinese tech companies, and their own national government. The participants shared that they trust Chinese firms the least when it comes to ensuring data privacy, with only 7.2 percent rating them favourably.

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Tech companies based in the US received a similar level of mistrust, with just 16.1 percent of the surveyed individuals rating their data handling capabilities positively. Germany led the distrust, with 91.2 participants saying they do not trust companies from the country. Polish participants rated US-based firms most favourably, with 37.9 percent saying they would trust them with their personal data.

When it comes to AI's benefits and risks, the participants were found to be split, with 50.1 percent saying it brings more benefits, whereas 49.9 percent said it has more risks than benefits. Individuals from France were noted to be most concerned with the risks, with 64.1 percent believing the risks outweigh the benefits. On the other end of the spectrum, Spanish participants were most optimistic about AI, with 62.7 percent saying there are more upsides than downsides.

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Further reading: Europe, China, US, AI, Artificial Intelligence, Data Privacy, Enterprise

Akash Dutta Email Akash Dutta

Akash Dutta is a Chief Sub Editor at Gadgets 360. He is particularly interested in the social impact of technological developments and loves reading about emerging fields such as AI, metaverse, and fediverse. In his free time, he can be seen supporting his favourite football club - Chelsea, watching movies and anime, and sharing passionate opinions on food. More