Ghostery
A Firefox web browser plugin used to block minion code that reports back to it's third party master. The blocked code, commonly called a "tracker," is used to create a profile of unknown depth by the company to which information is reported.
Controversy
The Ghostery is at times criticized because it offers the Internet participant an opportunity to report ad blocking information back to the Evidon company that produces the Ghostery software. The reported information is then aggregated and resold. According to an MIT Technology Review article the information collected is as follows:
- Tracking Code Reporting
- This is a service to web site owners allowing them to see what tracker codes are active on their sites and how site load speed is affected by those trackers.
- Tracking Code Prevalence
- The sale of data that indicates the prevalence of different tracking codes from different companies on the Internet.
The type of information collected and sold is only available by collecting statistics from end points on the Internet, "endpoints" being the browsers of Internet participants.
TekAdvocates Position
TekAdvocates condones the use of the Ghostery software and Evidon's associated business model. Our reasons for this position are as follows:
- Opt In
- Participation in the Ghostery data collection supporting the products produced for advertising and corporate web site operators is voluntary. The data collection is inactive at installation time. The Internet participant must consciously make a decision to take part on the data collection and take action to do so. It is not an opt-out situation where someone must first learn of the practice, then hunt down how to deactivate it and then finally, opt-out.
- Practice Disclosure
- Evidon clearly states that the opt-in feature will result in data regarding Internet use being transferred outside particpant control.
- Revenue Disclosure
- Evidon makes it clear how the "free" Ghostery product is being paid for so the customer can make an informed decision on cost/benefit.
The Evidon model does not create the dynamic of the participant and their software use being the product that is resold to a customer. In the Ghostery case the product participant is clearly informed that the price they pay will be "information," as opposed to money, and where that information is going. The participant must also make a conscious decision to take part and pay the stated price.
The Evidon approach then comes closer to being a "Try Before You Buy" model more than a "Pay With Your Privacy" approach, though we acknowledge there is not a clear line between the two. Perhaps in this case one would call the model "Try Before You Pay With Your Privacy."
Because of the conscious informed decision that must be made before ones information is collected it is TekAdvocates position that Evidon creates a model where both the data generator (the software participant) and the data purchaser (corporate buyer of aggregated data) are customers. This is not a case of the software participant being a blindly harvested crop of a hidden corporate customer.
There is a cleverness to this model in that by having the companies whose invasive data harvesting practices also benefit from the software, Evidon is less likely to meet resistance from those companies for obstructing their practices.
The Ghostery is commonly used by the Advocates of Tekadvocates, our participants and our customers. In every case we are aware, the Ghostery data collection option is left inactive.