Data aggregators, consumer data, and responsibility online: Who is tracking consumers online and should they stop?

ABSTRACT

The goal of this article is to examine the strategic choices of firms collecting consumer data online and to identify the roles and obligations of the actors within the current network of online tracking. In doing so, the focus shifts from placing the onus on individuals to make an informed choice, to justifying the roles and responsibilities of firms when gathering, aggregating, and using consumers' interests or behavior online. Firms online are uniquely positioned to undercut or to respect privacy expectations within three possible roles: as a member of a supply chain of information traders, within a network of surveillance online, and as an arm of law enforcement. These firms benefit from aggregating and analyzing consumer data and have an associated responsibility to not only minimize the harm to consumers but also to enact change where the firm is in the most knowledgeable and powerful position.

KEYWORDS:

• Big data
• business ethics
• Internet
• privacy
• surveillance
• tracking online

Acknowledgments

I thank Katie Shilton and Mary Culnan for helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article. This article was presented to the Society of Business Ethics (2013).

Funding

This material is based upon work supported by National Science Foundation grant 1311823—Addressing Privacy Online.

Notes

1. Empirical studies have shown that notices are difficult if not impossible to find by users (Leon et al. 2012) and include misleading information (Leon et al. 2010). Respondents do not understand notices to the point where users are misled by icons and notices (Ur et al. 2012). Respondents have been found to assume their privacy expectations are included in the notice (Martin, 2014) or that the advertising icon does more to protect their privacy than in actuality (Leon et al. 2012). Notices are unrealistically time-consuming (McDonald and Cranor 2008) and not always targeted toward consumers (Cranor et al. 2014).

2. For example, research has shown users have privacy expectations around both the type of information accessed and how the information is used when using mobile apps (Shilton and Martin 2013) or when online (Martin 2015). Respondents care about the scope of use of even innocuous information online (Leon et al. 2013), view tracking and online behavioral advertising as creepy (Ur et al. 2012), and wish to not be tracked (McDonald and Cranor 2010). In addition, respondents are concerned when notified by the researcher about the degree to which the individuals are tracked (Wills and Zeljkovic 2011). When asked, 68% of respondents stated they would not allow tracking (Turow et al. 2009).