Smart, Useful, Scary, Creepy:

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PERCEPTIONS OF ONLINE BEHAVIORAL ADVERTISING Smart, Useful, Scary, Creepy:

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Smart, Useful, Scary, Creepy:. Perceptions of Online Behavioral Advertising . Privacy Concerns. OBA = Online Behavioral Advertising According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission: Data collection can be sneaky Privacy notices are not easy to understand - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Transcript of Smart, Useful, Scary, Creepy:

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PERCEPTIONS OF ONLINE BEHAVIORAL

ADVERTISING

Smart, Useful, Scary, Creepy:

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Privacy Concerns

OBA = Online Behavioral Advertising According to the U.S. Federal Trade

Commission:Data collection can be sneakyPrivacy notices are not easy to

understandUser profiles are potentially too detailed

Could be uniquely identifiableProfiles could contain sensitive data

Info about health, finances, children

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Problems

Users do not understand how OBA works Many misconceptions about how and what data is

collected Misunderstand the role of advertising networks

Users are unaware of the control they have over their own privacy regarding OBA Users misinterpret the warning signs of OBA Users misconstrue how to control the monitoring of their

behaviorSolution:

Understand how internet consumers perceive OBA to better inform them and protect their privacy by employing more effective Notice and Choice mechanisms

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What OBA Is and How It Works

Goal: to construct a profile of an Internet user using his or

her browsing habits used in targeted advertisingData:

visible content from the site a user is visiting explicitly, and invisible content from a third-party that has a relationship with the visited website

Third parties: advertising networks, analytics companies, social

networksHow:

A cookie identifies a user across partner sites to track browsing history

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Users’ Impressions of Internet Advertising

Negative: Annoying, unnecessary, distracting, interfering Associated with pop-ups Unfounded fears

Useful: Helped users find new products Helps fund free services

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Users’ Impressions on How OBA Works

Based on browsing history and web searchesHoped actual monitoring is hypotheticalSome aware of cookies but don’t understand

detailsBelieved data like purchase history could be

boughtSome thought that interaction with the ad was

necessaryTargeted advertising only happens on websites

like Facebook, Gmail, or Amazon Customization is good Privacy invasion is bad

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OBA Icons

Goal: inform users that their data is being collected

Users’ perceptions Many had never seen the icons before, even when shown in

context with advertisements Some felt that icons meant “internet based ads” or

represented “great deals online” No one realized what the icons were actually trying to tell

them Some thought they allowed users to choose what type of ads

they would receive Some thought that clicking on the icon would let them tell

the advertisers about their interests, perhaps providing a list of subjects

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OBA Icons continued…

Users’ perceptions Solicited companies to buy an ad Clicking would lead to pop-ups Clicking would yield more

information about currently advertised product or expand the advertisement

Clicking would allow advertisers to track the user

Meant to legitimize the ad and distinguish it from the page content

Result: ineffective

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Users’ OBA Pros

After being informed, users concluded:Help users find things they are interested inProvide a more relevant and interesting

internet experienceHelp users save money by finding dealsAdvertisers can make more money by

targeting the right usersWebsite that host OBA can make more money

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Users’ OBA Cons

After being informed, users concluded:The idea that they could be monitored is

creepyConcerning that this observation is silentUncomfortable that third parties put “things”

on their computers without explicit permission

Offended by being stereotyped by advertisers because online activity is not an accurate representation of a person Ex: research

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Users’ OBA Cons continued…

Uncomfortable that clicking something on accident or someone else using their computer is included in their profile

Insecure: what else can people learn about them through their computers? Many believed that advertisers have access to

personally identifiable information which can be given to another party and/or used maliciously

Equivalent to someone following you around watching everything you do Changes your behavior if you know you’re being

watched

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Who Does the Collecting Matters

Familiar company Google vs. unfamiliar company BlueKai Users trust that Google is not mal-intentioned

A company with too much user information Google collecting info can help in search but need to be

careful when drawing the line because they also manage email and documents

Reputation as a viable corporation Yahoo and AOL not trustworthy because they are not as

financially stable and may do unpredictable things with users’ data in desperation

Microsoft is untrustworthy because people don’t like their products

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Users’ Methods to Stop OBA

Delete browsing history: cookies and cacheDepend on computer security tools

anti-virus and anti-spyware programs, firewalls, proxies, LinuxWeb browser should support controlling OBA

Private browsing Unaware of plugins or specific software

Ignore the ads Ad-blocking software, unsubscribing from emails Never clicking on ads

Websites should be able to stop OBA Unsure if they exist but they should oversee online marketing

None were aware of self-regulatory websites, opt-out programs, or “Do Not Track”

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Users’ Conclusions

Mixed bag OBA can help users find deals when planning a

vacation, but advertisers can know when the consumers aren’t home

OBA is okay situationally Reading the news vs. researching STD symptoms

Desired solutions Less distracting and interfering advertising Explicit user feedback: Have companies inquire about

user interests as opposed to collecting user behavior More awareness of how everything works

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Notice and Choice

Industry self-regulation Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) Network Advertising Initiative (NAI)

Goal: give users notice about OBA and the choice to opt-out so they have more control over their privacy

DAA principles: Consumer Control

Opt-out of targeted advertisements Transparency

Advertising option icon

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More Effective Notice and Choice

Better communicate that icons and text signals are meant for customers and are not solicitations for advertisers

Change location so that icon does not seem like part of the ad that could provide more information

Give users more choices to meet their expectations Users believed that they could make choices about the types of ads

they could receive, and they should be able to specify interest categories or correct incorrect profiles

Create different opt-out methods or better inform users about current opt-out methods Many believed in simply deleting their cookies, but that would

actually counteract opt-out cookie mechanisms Current methods, such as clicking on the icon or visiting another

website, are counterintuitive

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Ad Choices

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More Effective Notice and Choice cont…

Better inform users of how tracking occurs whether or not they interact with the advertisement Users instinctively avoid clicking on ads to avoid being tracked, but that is

currently how they can control OBAEmphasize the difference between security and privacy

Inform users that OBA is not related to virusesStress the difference between company services and advertising

The Windows OS is different from Microsoft Advertising, so users should not make decisions based on companies’ products.

Allow for more situational OBA OBA can be more or less appropriate depending on the browsing context, for

both privacy reasons and usefulness. Users should be able to specify which topics are available for data collection.

Encourage browsers to meet user expectation or make users aware of current browser tools

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Conclusion

Most users are partially or fully against OBA “smart but creepy” OBA is not as dangerous as users think it is

Attitudes influenced by: Incorrect assumptions of what and how much data is collected Misunderstanding of the parties involved in OBA and how they operate Misconstruing the profiling technology

Current notice and choice methods are failing Users should be properly informed of the practice of tailoring

advertising Users should be aware of how to control OBA

Current methods to control OBA are limited and difficult to use

Users’ understanding of OBA need to be considered in notice and choice mechanisms