Prized assets for web tracking

Abstract

In this study, I pinpoint the group of online Canadians who are predominantly affected by online personal data extractions, sometimes called web tracking. Due to the lack of regulations and online information market failure, online personal data extraction is ubiquitous. Little knowledge exists about who the users are that are mainly affected by web tracking. Two large population surveys, called the Canadian Internet User Survey 2010 and 2012, offer comprehensive and comparable measures to gauge the intensity and extent of people's online activities. An Internet intensity index is proposed to measure Canadian online activity scaled between zero (offline) and 100 (intensely active Internet user). Results indicate that the data of mature, well-off and educated men and women are captured by the web tracking technologies of online companies, to an increasing degree. Other population segments appear less affected. From a marketing perspective, the targeted group is the most coveted of all consumer groups. Thus, corporate self-regulation seems unlikely in the light of the current results. The overuse of social media and the Internet commons for the purpose of personal user data extraction might lead to an underuse of the Internet's possibilities to connect via social media. Today a market-led approach that essentially leaves web tracking unregulated may present first indications of online companies steering us towards a virtual tragedy of the commons.