Canada’s Privacy Commissioner has just released the final report of her Office’s consultations on the online tracking, profiling and targeting of consumers by marketers and other businesses. “Most people have no idea about the rich trail of data they leave behind when they browse the Internet, use social networking sites, or engage the geo-location functions of their mobile devices,” the Commissioner observed. Organizations that track the online activities of Canadians must be more upfront about their practices, Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart has concluded… “it comes down to meaningful consent, which entails informed consent”.
Privacy Commissioner releases report on online tracking, profiling and targeting, and cloud computing
May 6, 2011
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Device Fingerprinting, Facebook, Marketing, Monitoring, Privacy, Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Social Networking Websites, Technology | Tagged: Cloud Computing, Facebook, Internet, Privacy, Privacy Commissioner, Social Networking | 
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Posted by Brian Bowman
Privacy and compliance in digital market research
March 24, 2011
David Stark of GfK has penned an excellent article about how technology is affecting the marketing research industry. In his article, David highlights broad trends, notably in quantitative research, and the increase in observational research and passive data collection. Among other things, he also discusses cookies, device identification and web scraping. This is a ”must read” for marketing researchers and a valuable read for others. I hope you check it out.
Leave a Comment » | Device Fingerprinting, Internet, Marketing, Privacy, Social Networking Websites, Technology | Tagged: Internet, Privacy, Social Networking | Permalink
Posted by Brian Bowman
What is device fingerprinting, or machine ID?
November 4, 2010
Some online banks, e-commerce merchants and Internet-based market research firms are turning to a new technology called device fingerprinting (or machine ID as it’s often called) for online verification and fraud detection. Unlike cookies, however, which can be blocked, filtered and deleted, device fingerprinting is invisible to consumers. For website owners that use the technology, adequate disclosures, consent and safeguards are required, at minimum, to comply with privacy laws.
In fact, device fingerprinting works so well that many businesses that use it might not even be aware that they’re doing so. Is your organization using the technology? If so, it’s vital that your organization’s use of device fingerprinting complies with applicable privacy laws.
To learn more about device fingerprinting click here to view a presentation that I recently delivered alongside Steven Johnston (Senior Security and Technology Advisor, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada) and David Stark (CIPP, Vice President, Compliance and Privacy Officer, GFK Group) to the International Association of Privacy Professionals in Baltimore, Maryland. As you’ll see, the presentation includes an overview of device fingerprinting, identifies relevant privacy law issues (my contribution to the presentation), the OPC’s perspective and provides practical examples.
Thanks to the IAPP for the opportunity to present and compliments to Steven Johnston and David Stark for excellent remarks.
Leave a Comment » | Device Fingerprinting, PIPEDA, Privacy, Technology | Tagged: Information Technology, Internet, Privacy, Privacy Compliance, Technology | Permalink
Posted by Brian Bowman
