Anke Hohensee - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Anke Hohensee

Research paper thumbnail of Privacy-invading mechanisms in e-commerce - a case study on German tourism websites

International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations, 2019

Against the importance of online privacy, this paper investigates German tourism websites previou... more Against the importance of online privacy, this paper investigates German tourism websites previously shown as actively adopting mail tracking technology. For a sample of 50 highly visited websites, we analyse the quantity and type of data both mandatory and optional for registration. We further examine the extent to which personal data is collected in the background. Finally, we explore whether this practice can be associated with visibility of a privacy policy and other website design elements. Our results show an average of 24 contacted third-party websites, 42 generated cookies and 15 active trackers. Websites with visible general terms and conditions and privacy policies are connected with a significantly higher number of third-party services. Websites inviting users to follow them on Twitter contact significantly more third-party services and store significantly more cookies. There are high correlations of over 0.7 between the numbers of contacted third-party services, generated cookies and activated trackers.

Research paper thumbnail of Privacy-Invading Mechanisms in E-Commerce – A Case Study on German Tourism Websites

In the digital age, the careful handling of personal data plays an important role, since privacy ... more In the digital age, the careful handling of personal data plays an important role, since privacy is vital for users. Therefore, it is of utmost importance for users that data collection is minimized and their data is treated strictly confidential. This paper analyzes the data a user needs to provide for an E-Commerce website. Specifically, our case study focuses on German tourism websites since the tourism sector in Germany was shown in related work as very actively adopting mail tracking technology. For a sample of 50 highly visited web sites, we collect and analyze the quantity as well as the type of data both mandatory and optional for registration. We further examine the extent to which personal data is collected in the background, and particularly, the extent to which other third-party web pages are communicated with, cookies are spawned and trackers are triggered. The collection of background data is often not obvious for the user and not communicated at all or only in a short subordinate clause in the privacy policy of the web page. Against user beliefs of higher protection in the presence of a privacy policy, we further explore whether the background data collection can be associated with its visibility during the registration process, as well as other website design elements. Our results show that privacy-invading mechanisms are prevalent in the tourism sector of e-commerce, with an average of 24 contacted third-party websites, 42 generated cookies and 15 active trackers. Websites, where general terms and conditions and privacy policies are visible during registration, are connected with a significantly higher number of third-party services. Websites inviting users to follow them on Twitter contact significantly more third-party services and store significantly more cookies. There are high correlations of over 0.7 between the numbers of contacted third-party services, generated cookies and activated trackers.

Research paper thumbnail of Privacy-invading mechanisms in e-commerce - a case study on German tourism websites

International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations, 2019

Against the importance of online privacy, this paper investigates German tourism websites previou... more Against the importance of online privacy, this paper investigates German tourism websites previously shown as actively adopting mail tracking technology. For a sample of 50 highly visited websites, we analyse the quantity and type of data both mandatory and optional for registration. We further examine the extent to which personal data is collected in the background. Finally, we explore whether this practice can be associated with visibility of a privacy policy and other website design elements. Our results show an average of 24 contacted third-party websites, 42 generated cookies and 15 active trackers. Websites with visible general terms and conditions and privacy policies are connected with a significantly higher number of third-party services. Websites inviting users to follow them on Twitter contact significantly more third-party services and store significantly more cookies. There are high correlations of over 0.7 between the numbers of contacted third-party services, generated cookies and activated trackers.

Research paper thumbnail of Privacy-Invading Mechanisms in E-Commerce – A Case Study on German Tourism Websites

In the digital age, the careful handling of personal data plays an important role, since privacy ... more In the digital age, the careful handling of personal data plays an important role, since privacy is vital for users. Therefore, it is of utmost importance for users that data collection is minimized and their data is treated strictly confidential. This paper analyzes the data a user needs to provide for an E-Commerce website. Specifically, our case study focuses on German tourism websites since the tourism sector in Germany was shown in related work as very actively adopting mail tracking technology. For a sample of 50 highly visited web sites, we collect and analyze the quantity as well as the type of data both mandatory and optional for registration. We further examine the extent to which personal data is collected in the background, and particularly, the extent to which other third-party web pages are communicated with, cookies are spawned and trackers are triggered. The collection of background data is often not obvious for the user and not communicated at all or only in a short subordinate clause in the privacy policy of the web page. Against user beliefs of higher protection in the presence of a privacy policy, we further explore whether the background data collection can be associated with its visibility during the registration process, as well as other website design elements. Our results show that privacy-invading mechanisms are prevalent in the tourism sector of e-commerce, with an average of 24 contacted third-party websites, 42 generated cookies and 15 active trackers. Websites, where general terms and conditions and privacy policies are visible during registration, are connected with a significantly higher number of third-party services. Websites inviting users to follow them on Twitter contact significantly more third-party services and store significantly more cookies. There are high correlations of over 0.7 between the numbers of contacted third-party services, generated cookies and activated trackers.