Team Two pg 1

Team Two:
Abby Kemp
Christian Gonzalez
Sydney Hickey
Genevieve Showalter
Jordan Specht
Collaboration Exercise 9
9-9. Summarize the ways that third-party cookies are created and processed. Even
though cookies are not supposed to contain personally identifying data, explain how
such data can be readily obtained. (See question 9-19, page 383.)
Third-party cookies, unlike a first-party cookie, is created from a website that the
user had not necessarily visited. Third-party cookies often are created on websites with
content from various sources, such as websites like MSN. These cookies are then
stored on the computer and may offer personalized options to the user, such as a
browser or user preferences. These cookies may then be stored on a computer, with the
average cookie being stored for 30-60 days. Third-party cookies have mass amounts of
data, which is all processed through parallel processing. Parallel processing allows
cookies to integrate data from different cookies into one IP address, sort the importance
of characteristics of data, analyze data, and much more.
Even though third-party cookies are only supposed to contain information the IP
addresses and the content delivered, however, data from third-party cookies can offer
information of a particular users interactions to ads on various sites, making it easy to
offer up personal identifying data. Even if one website is visited, multiple third-party
cookies can be placed on a users browser as a result of visiting from that one site, even
if the user has never visited those sites. In many cases, as shown in figure 9-30 on
page 382 of the textbook, Using MIS, the user may not be aware of these cookies
tracking them. With multiple third-party cookies tracking one computer/user containing
large amounts of data, it is very easy to access personally identifying data to a user.
Especially if a session is unencrypted, it is easy for cookie data to be stolen.
(Thompson, 2008) (Kroenke & Boyle, 2015)

9-10. Numerous browser features, add-ins, and other tools exist for blocking third-party
cookies. Search the Web for blocking third-party cookies. Search the Web for blocking
third-party cookies for xxx, and fill in the xxx with the name and version of your browser.
Read the instructions, and summarize the procedures that you need to take to view the
cookies issued from a given site.

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Third party cookies are cookies that are created by a website other than the
website that you actually visited. In case you are concerned with blocking/or unblocking
third party cookies or tracking the ones that are being placed on your computer there
are ways that can be done. For the browser that I use, Mozilla Firefox, there is an
optional feature called Lightbeam. This feature tracks and graphs the third party cookies
that have been placed on your computer. If you want to completely block third party
cookies on your computer you can do so by opening up the web browser and at the top
of the task bar there is a cookies tab that you can click on. Next, hold your mouse
pointer over the option disable cookies, and finally click on disable third party
cookies. If you want to unblock the third party cookies, you do the same as above but
click on disable third party cookies. This will uncheck that option and start allowing
third party cookies to be placed on your computer.(Kroenke & Boyle, 2015)("Firefox.")
9-11. In large measure, ads pay for the free use of the Web content and even Web sites
themselves. If, because of a fear of privacy, many people block third-party cookies,
substantial ad revenue will be lost. Discuss with your group how such a movement
would affect the valuation of Facebook and other ad-revenue dependent companies.
Discuss how it would affect -the delivery of free online content such as that supplied by
Forbes or other providers.
Having third-party cookies is more or less an extreme form of targeted
advertising. It is almost like someone following you around in public, looking what stores
you go into, standing in line behind you to see your purchases, and writing it all down. It
is clear to see why there are some privacy concerns with third-party cookies.
According to gigaom.com, in the second quarter of 2013, Facebook saw
revenues of $1.81 billion; $1.6 billion of that came from advertising alone (88%!!!). Now,
if third-party cookies were blocked completely, this would prevent Facebook from honing
their marketing efforts to make their ads more relevant to you. Obviously, if the ads
pertain to your interests more, you are more likely to click on them, making Facebook
more money. But, without the third-party cookies giving them the inside data on
advertising, more Facebook users would see ads and consider them an afterthought as
opposed to something they might actually consider looking into based on previous web
history and purchases. Since a large majority of Facebooks revenue is dependent on
ads, disabling third-party cookies could cut that revenue by a large margin.
Perhaps if Facebooks revenues dropped severely enough because of the lack-of
advertising success, the once free online social media would charge a small monthly or
annual fee ($0.10?) to generate some extra revenue. Although, it seems like Facebook
could figure out other ways to target advertise. Maybe by looking at where people
check-in frequently (Starbucks, McDonalds, etc.), or their like history to gauge their

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interests. These strategies probably wouldnt be as effective as third-party cookies, but

we dont think it would affect their profits too drastically.
9-12. Many companies have a conflict of interest with regard to third-party cookies. On
the one hand, such cookies help generate revenue and pay for Internet content. On the
other hand, trespassing on user's privacy could turn out to be a PR disaster. As you
learned in your question 9-10, browsers include options to block third-party cookies.
However, in most cases, those options are turned off in default browser installation.
Discuss why that might be so. If sites were required to obtain your permission before
installing third-party cookies, how would you determine whether to grant it? List criteria
that your team thinks you would actually use (as opposed to what the team thinks you
should do). Assess the effectiveness of such a policy.
The core reason that third-party cookie blocking is turned off on default for most
browsers is because of revenue. Google Chrome, for example, is one of those browsers
that do not block by default (Chrome Help, 2015). It can seem sketchy that Google
doesnt want to automatically protect users from possible third-party threats, but it
makes sense when looking at the revenue effect of allowing this. Google currently
generates 96% of its revenue through its advertising products. In 2011, it saw
advertising revenues of $36.5bn, with $10.4bn coming from non-Google sites in its ad
network (Geary, 2012). The ability to advertise quite effectively through third-party
cookies and use data gathered from these cookies to target even more efficiently is
greatly benefiting companies like Google.
If sites were required to obtain permission before installing third-party cookies,
the first reason to allow permission would be if the website was encrypted. Encrypted
websites are used to prevent the interception of data, so if the website is trustworthy
than the third-party cookies are deemed so as well, because a website would not want
to break encryption trust by having unreliable cookies. This can be seen on the website
AdSense (owned by Google), which requires the allowance of third-party cookies for
users to access some account pages (AdSense Help, 2015). Why? Because Google
wants to advertise to users on its own website while still maintaining the secure
connection.
Another way to determine whether or not to grant permission to third-party
cookies goes off of the first determination factor of encryption and trusting the website.
Even when encryption is not available, the trust in the website can help determine the
trust of the cookies. When a website requires the allowance of third-party cookies,
research on that website should be done to evaluate its trustworthiness. Things to
possibly consider include: reputation for keeping users protected, motivators to ensure
safety, or potential hidden agendas. Increased trust in the website results in more

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reasons to trust that the cookies are regulated by the website to ensure protection to
users.
The effectiveness of this policy depends partially on the ability of a user to
effectively research, which isnt the most secure way to determine if permission should
be granted, but it is sufficiently safer than just allowing all of the cookies without
exceptions. Even quick Google searches can help warn users to stay away from certain
websites, like The Pirate Bay, that are known for infecting computers with lethal viruses.
Relying solely on the first mentioned determination factor of encryption is way more
reliable, but also comes with the drawback of only accessing encrypted websites. Using
these two determination factors together increases the chance of having a safe
experience with third-party cookies. Thankfully, internet browsers come with adjustable
settings for allowing or blocking certain types of third-party cookies, so this hypothetical
policy isnt the only way to deal with cookies.
9-13. The processing of third-party cookies is hidden; we don't know what is being done
behind the scenes with the data about our own behavior. Because there is so much of it
and so many parties involved, the possibilities are difficult to comprehend, even if the
descriptions were available. And if your privacy is compromised by the interaction of
seven different companies working independently, which is to be held accountable?
Summarize consequences of these facts on consumers.
When a consumers privacy is compromised due to the actions of several
companies working independently it is difficult to know who should be held accountable.
Unfortunately, unless a company was proven to have broken a law, there is no way to
really blame them. Besides, we all know that a company with alot of money will just
settle in court on any allegations brought against them. If a consumer feels that their
privacy has been compromised then they have to take the steps necessary to protect
themselves. They can use the settings in their browser to stop third party cookies from
being stored onto their device.
So, it is hard to simply say it is up to the consumer to protect themselves
because this sounds like companies have the right to do whatever they want. But the
reality is that, companies basically can do whatever they want. It is up to the consumer
to protect themselves because even with unbiased regulation, there is no way to ensure
that companies will deal with data collection in a way that is morally sound.
There is good news however. It seems consumers are not alone in the fight to
protect privacy. A company called AdBlock Plus is an open source project that offers
free installation of ad blocking software. It offers protection from malware, ad tracking
and annoying ads in general. It has filters you can use to tell it exactly what to block or

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allow. AdBlock Plus itself claims that it does not collect specific user data and that any
data that is used will never be sent to a server to be stored. AdBlock Plus will allow
certain ads to be displayed however. It has a whitelist of acceptable ads from certain
companies that have been permitted to be on the list. An example of an unacceptable
advertisement would be the kind that is flashy, plays automatically or pops up over the
content of the website one is trying to view. Unfortunately, the companies that thrive on
the revenue generated from advertising, sites like FaceBook and Google, have begun to
sue AdBlock Plus. As of now, AdBlock seems to be winning these cases in court but that
is perfect insight to where these companies stand on user privacy. Consumers should
take that insight as reason enough to protect themselves. (AdBlockPlus.org) (Kelion,
2015)

9-14. Summarize the benefits of third-party cookies to consumers.

Despite all of the negatives discussed of third-party cookies, they also offer
several benefits to consumers. Third-party cookies offer data that allows marketers and
research analysts to focus on the behavior of consumers, therefore allowing companies
to determine successful marketing strategies and promotions. Cookies also enable
consumers to receive personalized offers, as cookie data tracks a users movement
across the web. So recommended products, personalized ads, all can create an easier
online shopping environment for users, all thanks to cookies. Cookies go even further
than just shopping however. Cookies can recommend shows on Netflix, vacation
destinations, and much more. (Shkedi, 2006) (Thompson, 2008)

9-15. Given all you have learned about third-party cookies, what does your team think
should be done about them? Possible answers are: a) nothing; b) require Web sites to
ask users before installing third-party cookies; c) require browsers to block third-party
cookies; d) require browser to block third-party cookies by default, but enable them at
the user's option; e) something else. Discuss these alternatives among your team and
recommend one. Justify your recommendation.
We believe that overall third party cookies have a good intended use for everyone
involved. As for the consumer that allows the use of third party cookies on his computer
he benefits from them because that way advertisements he sees can be of interest or
useful to him. If the third party cookies were disabled then that person would be seeing
ads that had no direct correlation to his needs which overall would be ineffective
advertising. Another way that third party cookies are beneficial are that it provides

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important data for analyst and sales teams. With that data they are able to adjust to
demand for a service or good depending on the consumers needs. By doing that they
are able to allocate resources more effectively which ultimately means a better finished
good for the consumer at a better price. Ultimately we reached to the consensus that
the best option would be to require websites to ask the user before installing third party
cookies. This way the user can choose which third party cookies would be beneficial to
him and allow the browser to install them on the computer. (Shkedi, 2006)

Works Cited
AdSense Help. (2015). Enable cookies and SSL in my browser. Retrieved from Google Support:
https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/35730?hl=en
Chrome Help. (2015). Manage your cookies and site data. Retrieved from Google Support:
https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en
Geary, Joanna. (2012, April 23). DoubleClick (Google): What is it and what does it do?
Retrieved from The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/apr/23/doubleclicktracking-trackers-cookies-web-monitoring
Kern, E. (2013, July 24). Facebook Beats Expectations with $1.81 Billion in Revenue, Shows
Gains on Mobile. Retrieved May 27, 2015, from https://gigaom.com/2013/07/24/facebook-beatsexpectations-announces-second-quarter-revenue-of-1-81-billion
Kroenke, D., & Boyle, R. (2015). Using MIS. Pearson.

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Shkedi, R. (2006, March 15). First-Party Vs. Third-Party Cookies: Risks And Benefits. Retrieved
from MediaPost: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/40974/first-party-vs-third-partycookies-risks-and-ben.html?edition=
Thompson, M. (2008, June 23). The Pros and Cons of 1st and 3rd Party Cookies. Retrieved
from Stay On Search: http://www.stayonsearch.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-1st-and-3rd-partycookies
Firefox. (n.d.). Retrieved May 27, 2015, from
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enable-and-disable-cookies-website-preferences
AdBlockPlus.com "About". Retrieved May 26, 2015, from https://adblockplus.org/en/about
Kelion, L. (2015, May 27). AdBlock Secures Another Court Victory in Germany. Retrieved May
27, 2015, from http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-32903235