Privacy and Modern Advertising: Most US Internet Users Want 'Do Not Track' to Stop Collection of Data about their Online Activities

Amsterdam Privacy Conference, 2012

27 Pages Posted: 8 Oct 2012

See all articles by Chris Jay Hoofnagle

Chris Jay Hoofnagle

University of California, Berkeley - School of Law; University of California, Berkeley - School of Information

Jennifer M. Urban

University of California, Berkeley - School of Law

Su Li

University of California, Berkeley - School of Law

Date Written: October 8, 2012

Abstract

Most Americans have not heard of 'Do Not Track,' a proposal to allow Internet users to exercise more control over online advertising. However, when probed, most prefer that Do Not Track block advertisers from collecting data about their online activities. This is a much more privacy-protective approach for Do Not Track than what has been proposed by the advertising industry.

In previous studies, we have found that Americans think they are protected by strong online privacy laws. Here, we probed beliefs about tracking on medical websites and 'free' websites, with most not able to answer true/false questions correctly about tracking. This result brings into question notice-and-choice models that depend on consumer understanding of the terms for their legitimacy.

We also probed Internet users' attitudes towards advertising. Most Internet users say that they do not find utility in online advertising, with half claiming that they never click on ads.

Advertisers and consumers are at an impasse on privacy. Advertisers seem to be seeking a kind of total information awareness for behavioral advertising, and have proposed self-regulatory guidelines with little bite. At the same time, both our survey evidence and media reports show consumer opposition to tracking.

Do Not Track has emerged from the current skirmish between consumers and advertisers, but it is a relatively modest intervention that does little to shift the underlying incentives that have driven increasing tracking and aggregation of information about consumers. It is foreseeable that regardless of the form Do Not Track takes, websites will simply require consumers to disable it in order to access content. A fundamental change in incentives may be necessary to relieve this impasse and find an approach for advertising that is not so dependent upon third-party tracking and aggregation of information, both online and off.

Keywords: behavioral advertising, online advertising, privacy, consumer protection, do not track, DNT, attitudes toward advertising, utility of advertising, medical website tracking, free offers

JEL Classification: D12, D18

Suggested Citation

Hoofnagle, Chris Jay and Urban, Jennifer M. and Li, Su, Privacy and Modern Advertising: Most US Internet Users Want 'Do Not Track' to Stop Collection of Data about their Online Activities (October 8, 2012). Amsterdam Privacy Conference, 2012, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2152135

Chris Jay Hoofnagle (Contact Author)

University of California, Berkeley - School of Law ( email )

341 Berkeley Law Building
Berkeley, CA 94720-7200
United States
‭(510) 666-3783‬ (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://hoofnagle.berkeley.edu

University of California, Berkeley - School of Information ( email )

212 South Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720-4600
United States
510-643-0213 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://hoofnagle.berkeley.edu

Jennifer M. Urban

University of California, Berkeley - School of Law ( email )

342 Boalt Hall, North Addition
Berkeley, CA 94720-7200
United States
(510) 642-7338 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.samuelsonclinic.org

Su Li

University of California, Berkeley - School of Law ( email )

Berkeley, CA 94720
United States
8476449763 (Phone)

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