Authors:
Darius Zumstein
;
Aleksandar Drobnjak
and
Andreas Meier
Affiliation:
University of Fribourg, Switzerland
Keyword(s):
Web analytics, Web controlling, Google Analytics, Web analytics systems, Data collection, Data privacy, Privacy policy, Transparency, Declaration.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
e-Business and e-Commerce
;
Social and Legal Issues
;
Society, e-Business and e-Government
;
Web Information Systems and Technologies
Abstract:
Web analytics has become a useful instrument for electronic business and website management to analyze and optimize website usage. However, different concerns arise in web analytics regarding the collection, storage and usage of web data. To maintain user confidence in websites, operators need to comply with privacy and to inform truthfully about data collection. One way to achieve transparency would be by means of informing users on the purpose, methods and processes of data collection taking place and on the subsequent analysis and use of such. Results of an empirical study conducted show that 16% of the Forbes 500 listed companies, do not declare their data collection practices at all. Moreover, 35% do not declare the usage of cookies and 61% do not declare the recording of IP addresses. Surprisingly, 91% of the websites do not name the web analytics system (provider) used to track web usage and user data. A large backlog exists regarding transparency of data collection in privacy
policies, especially when Google Analytics is used. This paper demands more transparency in web analytics and proposes a declaration model with seven criteria for the evaluation of data collection on websites: type of data being collected, purpose of data collection, method of data collection as well as the technology and software used for data collection. In addition, websites should provide the right to access personal data and to deactivate data collection during visits.
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