Infrastructures of tracking: Mapping the ecology of third-party services across top sites in the EU

Abstract

Today, websites operate in a modular fashion, outsourcing the surveillance and datafication of users to outside companies, along with security functions, video hosting, and so on. These third-party services (TPSs) function as key enablers of the web, with respect to functionality and the monetization of user activity. Departing from critical data studies and media systems analysis, the article contributes to understanding TPS infrastructures by placing these in a wider context of markets, cultural differences and regulation. Through a study of top-150 websites from the 28 EU countries, the article demonstrates how the use of TPSs varies between different parts of the region and different types of sites, and traces this variation to issues of language, regulatory traditions and differences in online businesses. These insights may inform current debates about surveillance capitalism and big data, by linking different forms of commodification of users’ behavioural data to broader social and cultural structures.

Tracking on the Web, Mobile and the Internet-of-Things

“…This article has aimed to provide an overview of a widespread and complex phenomenon, which -despite decades of research, increasing coverage in the media, and attention by regulators -remains under-examined given its societal importance. Many areas have not been touched on here in detail, from how tracking operates outside of the commonly-studied contexts of North America, Europe, and China, to the political economy of tracking infrastructure [323], and the use of tracking in sensitive areas like health [324] and credit [325]. There are many differing and equally fascinating ways in which tracking on the web, mobile and IoT intersect with modern economic, social and political realities which this overview could not include.…”

A Scoping Review of Ethics Across SIGCHI

“…A possible way forward could be to establish more robust and evidence-based policies and redistribute responsibility across other entities. Research in new media studies, for instance, strongly advocates in favour of recasting national and international regulatory agencies as well as consumer and non-governmental organisations to become core agents in securing end-users' best interests [73]. Surprisingly, however, this review sample usually does not emphasise the need for stronger regulations, external evaluation, and legal accountability as means to protect users and guide individual action.…”

Design Considerations for Data Daemons: Co-creating Design Futures to Explore Ethical Personal Data Management

“…Many online services and mobile applications harvest and trade personal tracking data with a multitude of data brokers and third-party service providers. As Helles et al [8] show, the online tracking business feeds an attention economy in which end-users are more unsuspecting subjects than collaborating partners.…”