Consumer Privacy in the Age of Big Data

Abstract

Privacy advocates scored a triumph in April 2021 with anti-tracking features in Apple’s privacy nutrition labels and, to a lesser extent, Google’s Federated Learning of Cohorts replacement for third-party cookies. However, data security remains elusive as cybercriminals posted online the stolen personal information of 533 million Facebook users from 106 countries.

“America needs a robust privacy framework that preserves consumer trust in the evolving Internet economy while ensuring the Web remains a platform for innovation, jobs, and economic growth.”

– U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke (December 2010)

“I will include easier access to one’s own data in the new rules. People must be able to easily take their data to another provider or have it deleted if they no longer want it to be used.”

– E.U. Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding (January 2012)

“Who doesn’t like getting those retail discounts or free gift coupons from their favorite stores? But did you know there were strings attached, invisible eyes tracking your every consumer move?”

– FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez (May 2014)

“Advertising that respects privacy is not only possible, it was the standard until the growth of the Internet. … the current data arms race primarily benefits big businesses with big data sets.”

– Apple (November 2020)

“People shouldn’t have to accept being tracked across the web in order to get the benefits of relevant advertising, and advertisers don’t need to track individual consumers across the web to get the performance benefits of digital advertising.”

– David Temkin, Google’s Ads Privacy and Trust (March 2021)