Who’s tracking your online activities
(Photo from Flickr user thms.nl (cc))
Story from Here and Now. Listen to audio for full report.
Many web sites use small digital files called cookies to collect details on everything from where you live to what clothes you buy. If you’re security savvy, you’ve probably deleted cookies from your computer before.
But the Wall Street Journal recently reported that some sites are now using so-called “supercookies” that are almost impossible for computer users to find and delete.
They’ve been deployed on websites like MSN.com and Hulu.com, but have since been removed.
All types of cookies, including supercookies, are used by ad companies to get more information about people surfing the web. Often that information is sold to companies who target their advertisements to your tastes.
Julia Angwin, reporter for the Wall Street Journal, told Here & Now’s Sacha Pfeiffer that some people don’t mind being tracked if it means they’ll see advertisements tailored to their interests.
However, Angwin adds, the lack of regulation on companies handling the vast amount of information available about us online may be cause for concern.
“They can sell it to whomever they want. There are employers who have looked into using this type of data, insurers have looked into using it. There’s absolutely no law regulating the use of this data,” she said.
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