Quantifying Individuals' Trade-Offs Between Privacy, Liberty & Security: the Case of Rail Travel in U.K.
Quantifying individuals ' trade-offs between privacy, liberty & security: The case of rail travel in U.K.
Abstract
Public transport systems have been targets in several terrorist attacks, notably in recent years, resulting in tight security measures worldwide. However, individuals ' privacy and liberty often conflict with efforts towards safety and security, making it difficult to assess the benefits of security measures balanced against the costs (e.g. citizens may be stopped, searched and asked to provide personal identification data to authorities without any particular reason). Henceforth, our research question asks, "to what extend would legitimate citizens sacrifice their privacy and liberty rights in exchange for potentially safer and more secure travel?" This paper uses a stated choice experiment to quantify individuals ' trade-offs between privacy and security within a real-life context, namely rail travel in the UK. Using a nationwide sample, the empirical analysis yields the importance of improvements in the security infrastructure and identifies areas of concern with regard to privacy and liberty controlling for travel related factors. Further, trade-offs across different security improvements for rail travel are quantified in terms of individuals ' willingness to pay extra on top of the average ticket price.
Introduction
Following terrorist attacks targeting public transport systems worldwide, safety and security have become a top priority in the policy agenda of many countries, and particularly the UK. Security measures for air travel have historically received a great deal of attention, but security authorities are now increasingly having to focus upon land-based mass transit systems. These have become a target for terrorist groups due to their vulnerability and ease of access arising from their intrinsically open nature. Additionally, mass transit systems can be both the means and the target for the attack. Terrorists understand how the
Abstract
Public transport systems have been targets in several terrorist attacks, notably in recent years, resulting in tight security measures worldwide. However, individuals ' privacy and liberty often conflict with efforts towards safety and security, making it difficult to assess the benefits of security measures balanced against the costs (e.g. citizens may be stopped, searched and asked to provide personal identification data to authorities without any particular reason). Henceforth, our research question asks, "to what extend would legitimate citizens sacrifice their privacy and liberty rights in exchange for potentially safer and more secure travel?" This paper uses a stated choice experiment to quantify individuals ' trade-offs between privacy and security within a real-life context, namely rail travel in the UK. Using a nationwide sample, the empirical analysis yields the importance of improvements in the security infrastructure and identifies areas of concern with regard to privacy and liberty controlling for travel related factors. Further, trade-offs across different security improvements for rail travel are quantified in terms of individuals ' willingness to pay extra on top of the average ticket price.
Introduction
Following terrorist attacks targeting public transport systems worldwide, safety and security have become a top priority in the policy agenda of many countries, and particularly the UK. Security measures for air travel have historically received a great deal of attention, but security authorities are now increasingly having to focus upon land-based mass transit systems. These have become a target for terrorist groups due to their vulnerability and ease of access arising from their intrinsically open nature. Additionally, mass transit systems can be both the means and the target for the attack. Terrorists understand how the
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