There are many [privacy issues] - from data collection methods
using 1st party cookies, third party cookies, Flash objects and data
triangulation, to the highly personal IMEI number of your mobile phone. The
issue is that the consumer (every web user), struggles to know what information
is private, what is public and what to do in order to change the info they wish
to share or keep private. Today the "average" web user is simply not
in control of their own personal information.
A consequence of this, is that a particularly bad experience can
lead to a complete shut-down of sharing visitor information…This is a real
problem for the web measurement industry. If web users decide not to share
their anonymous information in large numbers, tracking data becomes sparse, and
the web takes a backwards step.[i]
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Fast-forward to August 2011, and sure enough a lawsuit was filed involving
web analytics firm KISSMetrics and its clients. Specifically, the suit alleged that KISSMetrics' technology to track users' site visits violated federal and state (California) laws[ii]. According to the complaint filed[iii], users would explicitly set their web browser to either block or routinely delete tracking cookies, thinking that this would prevent targeted ads from showing up. Little did they know KISSMetrics was not storing browser cookies to get their user data - instead they were storing Adobe Flash LSOs (Local Stored Objects) - a technology that researchers found to be unavoidable no matter what precaution one takes (that's right, not even Chrome's Incognito Mode prevents those LSOs!).
What was the result of this lawsuit? KISSMetrics itself never admitted to any wrongdoing, and its official statement maintains that it never shared user info with a third party, and that it never had the ability to track users across multiple different websites. In the end, they ended up settling with the two plaintiffs, with a whopping $2,500 paid to each one (not to mention the $500,000+ the company agreed to pay in attorney fees).[iv]
I know what you're thinking: "why didn't this exciting case generate more media and public outrage?" - well, even though it didn't, it does raise significant issues about what role web analytics plays in the topic of online privacy. To me, the KISSMetrics lawsuit is an example of neither right-nor-wrongdoing - they were simply leveraging a technology (the LSOs) to deliver a service - and in an industry as fast paced as web analytics, innovation will almost always outpace policy measures. While the DAA (Digital Analytics Association) is doing a laudable job at promoting web analyst accountability through its white papers, more needs to be done to educate the people that are the real source of the privacy problem: the users themselves! It's about time people learn about how their data is collected beyond just deleting tracking cookies every now and then.
I titled this blog post as a cautionary tale, but the warning is directed not towards web analytics, but to the everyday user of the Internet. Web Analytics can do amazing things with completely anonymous user data. Once again, from all the way back in 2010, another web analytics blog offers this opinion about online privacy:
The real threat to privacy is the lack of education about the online information sharing. We are the ones who are voluntarily revealing a ton of information...that to me should be more concerning than anonymous web analytics tracking and the ads that are targeted based on a user's click behavior.[vi]
I wholeheartedly agree, fellow blogger.
References
[i]http://online-behavior.com/analytics/web-analytics-predictions-2011-1145
[ii]http://www.wired.com/business/2011/08/tracking-lawsuit/
[iii]http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/business/2011/08/Kissmetrics-Website-Defendants-Complaint.pdf
[iv]http://www.research-live.com/news/legal/kissmetrics-settles-etag-tracking-lawsuit/4008518.article
[v]http://www.setyoufreenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Track-me-if-you-can-260x173.jpg
[vi]http://webanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/03/online-privacy-consumer-education-is.html#axzz2KowxFDoF
Interesting Chris. I think most people just don't care. I think most peoples attitude is "my online activity is pretty boring, who cares about someone tracking me. They would fall asleep."
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Evil isn't spread by some aggressive violent thing. Evil is spread by apathy and complacency. My searches are mundane and boring but they are mine. Thank you for the info. Remain vigilant and continue to report so we can try to fight against the people who spy on and use us!
ReplyDelete