Oh, The Places Your Data Will Go! A Browser Based Intervention to Expose the Data Economy and Provide a Framework for a Privacy-Forward Future

Abstract

This research brings to light the problems of the data economy that pertain to privacy and the commodification of personal data. The formation of the World Wide Web and Big Data have made it difficult for people to keep any parts of their lives out of datasets or the hands of data brokers and technology companies. The rise of the Internet of things has brought forth new threats to security as it has created opportunities to collect data points about every part of our day. As it is almost certain that privacy is not possible on an opt-out basis, we must protect those who desire privacy or who might be marginalized by algorithms. The research observes why four types of interventions – technology, legislation, design, and economics – have each failed to address the overall problem with the data economy, and individually only solve a small piece. The paper introduces a critical design intervention in the form of a browser extension that displays to users the investors of the trackers on the user’s current web page. Inspired by a desire to reveal the middle layer of the data economy to an everyday user, the extension’s aim is not to block tracking but to expose it. Lastly, the paper offers a potential future in which privacy is protected, and warns against one where it is not.