One in three UK delivery app customers feel harassed by drivers with access to their data, according to a survey by the UK Data Protection Office (ICO).
According to the research, which surveyed 2,000 British adults aged 18-34, 17% of people said they had been unwanted contacted by delivery men or other delivery company workers asking them for dates or having sex.
This situation was repeated more frequently in cities like London. In the British capital, this figure rises to 33%, according to Business Insider. Young people are the most affected by these irregular practices, the agency continues.
Some specialists recall that more and more delivery companies are turning to the collaborative economy or contract employees. These workers lack good working conditions, in addition to being casual, which would partly explain their inappropriate behavior.
There is no reason to justify this practice, according to those surveyed. Two thirds of those consulted consider that it is not morally correct to use personal data provided for commercial purposes for personal propositions.
"The potential impact of a breach like this reminds us that data protection is a people issue," said ICO Deputy Commissioner Stephen Bonner.
The OCI does not explicitly name any companies, but points to "big companies." Given these results, the person in charge maintains that they will continue "to support organizations so that they obtain adequate data protection so that people can feel confident that their information is safe," adds Bonner.
Last June, a passenger from the airline Etihad Airways denounced in The Guardian that a worker contracted by the airline contacted her via mobile phone and sent her text messages without her giving her consent.
