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3 

Platform usage information. Through web analytics systems it is possible to collect 

information on type of computer, browser and screen resolution used by site users (see 

Chapter 7).

4 

Behavioural information (on a single site). This is purchase history, but also includes 

the whole buying process. Web analytics (Chapter 12) can be used to assess the web and 

email content accessed by individuals.

5 

Behavioural information (across multiple sites). This can show how a user accesses 

multiple sites and responds to ads across sites. Typically these data are collected and used 

using an anonymous profile based on cookie or IP addresses which is not related to an 

individual. Complete Activity 4.3 to find out more about behavioural targeting and form 

an opinion of whether it should be regulated more.

Activity 4.3

Attitudes to behavioural ad targeting

Imagine you are a web user who has just found out about behavioural targeting.

Use the information sources provided by the industry to form an opinion. Discuss 

with others studying your course whether you believe behavioural ad targeting should 

be banned (as has been proposed in some countries) or whether it is acceptable.

Suggested information sources:

● 

Internet Advertising Bureau guide to behavioural advertising and privacy (www.you‑

ronlinechoices.com/). If you take a look at this page you will see the number of ad 

networks that users can potentially you can be targeted on. How many are you 

targeted by and how do you feel about it? See  www.youronlinechoices.com/uk/

your‑ad‑choices.

● 

Digital Analytics Association (www.digitalanalyticsassociation.org/? page= privacy). 

A trade association of online tracking vendors.

● 

Google ‘ Interest‑  based advertising’: How it works (www.google.com/ads/prefer‑

ences/html/about.html), which explains the process and benefits as follows:

Many websites, such as news sites and blogs, use Google’s AdSense program (‘a 

network of publishers using advertising through Google’) to show ads on their sites. 

It’s our goal to make these ads as relevant as possible for you. While we often show 

you ads based on the content of the page you are viewing, we also developed new 

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Chapter 4  E‑environment

Table 4.4 summarises how these different types of customer information are collected and 

used. The main issue to be considered by the marketer is disclosure of the types of informa-

tion collection and tracking data used. The first two types of information in the table are 

usually readily explained through a privacy statement at the point of data collection, which 

is usually a legal requirement. However, with the other types of information, users would 

only know they were being tracked if they have cookie monitoring software installed or if 

they seek out the privacy statement of a publisher which offers advertising.

Ethical issues concerned with personal information ownership have been summarised by 

Mason (1986) into four areas:

● 

Privacy – what information is held about the individual?

● 

Accuracy – is it correct?

● 

Property – who owns it and how can ownership be transferred?

● 

Accessibility – who is allowed to access this information, and under which conditions?

Fletcher (2001) provides an alternative perspective, raising these issues of concern for both 

the individual and the marketer:

● 

Transparency – who is collecting what information and how do they disclose the collec-

tion of data and how it will be used?

● 

Security – how is information protected once it has been collected by a company?

● 

Liability – who is responsible if data are abused?

All of these issues arise in the next section, which reviews actions marketers should take to 

achieve privacy and trust.

Data protection legislation is enacted to protect the individual, to protect their privacy 

and to prevent misuse of their personal data. Indeed, the first article of the European Union 

directive 95/46/EC (see 

http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/fsj/privacy/

) specifically refers to 

personal data. It says:

Member states shall protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons [i.e. 

a named individual at home or at work], and in particular their right to privacy with respect 

to the processing of personal data.

In the UK, the enactment of the European legislation is the Data Protection Act 1984, 

1998 (DPA). It is managed by the ‘Information Commissioner’ and summarised at 

www.

ico.gov.uk

. This law is typical of what has evolved in many countries to help protect personal 

information. Any company that holds personal data on computers or on file about custom-

ers or employees must be registered with the data protection registrar (although there are 

some exceptions which may exclude small businesses). This process is known as