To what extent do corporations and organisations infringe online privacy?
A valuable asset from the digital world is data. This commodity is collected by tracking it through websites:
Cookies & Canvas Fingerprinting
Cookies are small data files held within an internet browser[2]. They can be used by websites and servers, with user permissions, to distinguish browsers, remember preferences, and target advertisements[3].
Additionally, canvas fingerprinting exploits HTML5’s Canvas API to collect graphic data[6]. This data can be used by websites and servers, without user permissions, to also distinguish browsers and target advertisements[5].
Both tracking methods allow companies to enhance marketing and analytics, however, cookies store data on the user’s device while canvas fingerprinting stores data on the website’s server; meaning the latter more aggressively invades privacy compared to the former since it is separated from user control.
Data & Ethics
Facebook and Cambridge Analytica were scandalised when a whistle-blower revealed the website to be harvesting data from its users. The information was personality-based and used to fuel an academic research[1].
The study’s methodology breached matters concerning privacy because Big Data requires removal of identifying information to remain ethical[4]; which is practically impossible in this case.