The Trajectory of Online Tracking and Data Collection

Components like cookies and tags are the most popular current tracking tools that businesses rely on to grow their revenue and learn about their users. Stored on a user's device, these technologies collect personal and activity data on consumers such as which pages they view, how they accessed a given website, and even which products they choose to purchase. With all of these new and intelligent forms of data collection, many countries have implemented strict privacy regulations which protect and secure the user’s right to their data and how it is used. In Europe, the European Union has been developing laws that govern online policy, holding businesses accountable through the enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and with help from ePrivacy Directive. Similarly, in the United States, California, Colorado, and Virginia are few of the many states that have devised unique legislations to combat the exploitation of consumer data online.

Because of how rigid these privacy guidelines are, businesses face many challenges when trying to conduct research. First, it can be nearly impossible to gather and analyze proper analytics when there is not enough data consensually shared on a given website. If too many users refuse to consent to sharing their information, businesses struggle to gather any sufficient data. On top of this, there are heavy fines that come with violating these regulations, so much so that even the largest most powerful corporations have been fined millions of dollars for privacy offenses. Despite these grievances, there are many methods being introduced in order to lawfully avoid these setbacks and continue to collect data in a more ethical way. The use of cookie-less data collection methods, as well as the push for a higher percentage of registered users on a website both allow for sufficient data collection that does not jeopardize the safety and privacy of consumers. It is beneficial for businesses to adopt these practices, as they are the best way to respect user privacy without the sacrificing of data quality.

Source: InfoTrust