The Alignment Spectrum of Privacy Policies
From one end to another — lawful good to chaotic evil — users and marketers are scattered within the spectrum as privacy acts evolve.
My online habits have come a long way from playing mindless computer games to setting up my first social media profile, completely oblivious to the amount of information I was feeding the system. As smartphones and advanced technology enter the picture, ads are becoming a bit too intrusive, and social content seems to be the third party to my daily conversations (or even my own thoughts).
Moves from Google and Apple play into this dilemma, but not without benefits and drawbacks in the world of web-users and marketers. Privacy as a concept in the virtual realm is a fine line, usually bringing forth arguments in our discretion between right and wrong, and to what extent is it ethical. I will attempt to divide the alignment spectrum into two sides, towards lawful good and towards chaotic evil in the eyes of the web-user and the marketer, to try and determine where each stands in the advent of privacy legislation.
The Web-User Spectrum
The lawful good in cookie-based tracking — As humans, we carry a desire to share our personality and views in accessible platforms to connect with others like us or discover more about ourselves. The online world is an avenue that welcomes free speech (within the boundaries of mutual respect), and builds communities grounded in common interest and advocacies. It’s proven over time that the network reached in technology, whether it’s a device in our desks or attached to our bodies, has made communication more efficient.
The chaotic evil in cookie-based tracking — On the other end, this limitless platform can be abused with methods of internet fraud. It only takes an individual who is skilled in decoding scripts or tags to take advantage of others via phishing, data breach, malware, or business email compromise. These cyber scams in different extremes can be regulated with privacy acts to eliminate instances wherein simply clicking on display ads can make a user’s online experience illegitimate.
The Marketer Spectrum
The lawful good in cookie-based tracking — The industry is heavily reliant on data — a key element in optimizing the tech trends a marketer should watch out for in 2023, which includes: m-commerce, generative AI, clean rooms, web3, and gaming. It enriches user experience — many have found their next go-to retail store or food joint via online recommendations, and this has most likely reached them via targeted or sponsored ads. Small business marketers are also given the opportunity to grow their assortments and presence with the various optimization and analytics tools.
The chaotic evil in cookie-based tracking — The benefits of third party servers in data verification and real time optimization eases the marketer’s rationale for allocating the most spend and effort on digital ads. This quality of information pushes for more advances in tracking the target consumer via geo-fencing and hyper targeting to the point of breaching personal safety and freedom. Privacy acts protect this side of the consumer but disconnects marketers from data in the social space that could then affect awareness and revenue.
The Verdict
Both sides provide valid arguments towards privacy policies — however with many tech players and advancements in the field, there is surely a way to still regulate online activities to protect the consumer while maintaining dignified marketing strategies. This attempt seems feasible with Google’s Privacy Sandbox APIs, which proposes to analyze browsing on individual devices to model groups of people without creating individual profiles. As long as large tech companies’ motivation isn’t based solely on profit but rather the efficiency of the virtual space, steering data collection towards the lawful good is possible.
