Internet trackers are everywhere. No matter which website you browse, you are being tracked, your search results, your information, it is all being tracked. Students can research this phenomenon because of how pervasive it is throughout the internet. Tracking data is an intricate process, as there are multiple facets of an internet users’ data that can be tracked and collected by websites. The fine print of the terms of services is hard for users to understand, and combined with the lack of transparency on the part of websites, people find themselves in trouble of their data being stolen.
There is barely enough time in the day to take stock of how many times a website has asked its visitors to agree to cookies. And most of these websites don’t actually them a choice either. Most websites will leave the necessary cookies option on yet will ask if the visitor wants to adjust which additional cookies to leave on and turn off. There’s no room for a fair agreement with those types of websites. Some websites won’t let visitors use them at all if they don’t agree to cookies and trackers.
Some internet users will rely on adblock to ward off harmful advertisements and information trackers. Others will rely on VPN’s in order to protect themselves from unwanted tracking. However in the case of the later, VPN are only free for a week at best and they cost money if the user wants to continue using it. This leaves the question of how to thwart unwanted tracking without giving into capitalism.
The big capitalism problem is at the center of internet tracking. Capitalism is the primary reason why all these online websites track people’s data and record and collect their information. As there is barely enough time in the day to keep track of all the trackers, users are at an abysmal disadvantage when it comes to protecting their online privacy.
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