Targeted Advertising and Ad Blocking Technologies
by Laura Moberg
Have you ever wondered if your phone was listening to you? In an episode from their podcast Reply All, Alex Goldman and PJ Vogt investigate the belief many people have that Facebook is listening to us through our devices and using that information to create targeted ads. [7] While Goldman concludes that Facebook is not listening to us, the reality might actually be more disturbing: Facebook’s targeted advertising strategy relies on a sophisticated algorithm that builds a distinct profile of you as an individual by collecting data on sites you visit outside of Facebook, your location and demographic information, and your online connections, like Facebook friends. Part of what makes targeted advertising so unsettling is the fact that the algorithms used by social media companies are in a Black Box – unknown and inaccessible to users. Goldman states in the podcast that these algorithms are so complex that even Facebook employees probably couldn’t tell you exactly why you were seeing a certain ad.
If you’re anything like me, all advertisements seem somewhat invasive and manipulative, but targeted advertising is an even bigger concern because of the privacy issues associated with it. Targeted advertising – and, in particular, behavioural advertising, which is a model in which companies tailor ads based on individual user data and user profiles – is an increasingly pressing issue in the online environment. [3] While proponents of targeted advertising argue that it benefits both users and advertisers by matching individuals with the ads that are most relevant and useful to them and by increasing advertising revenue for online publishers, many users view targeted advertising as an infringement on their privacy and dislike the thought of their data being monetized in this way. [3] It is important for us as internet users to become more aware of our online behaviour and the data we are sharing with social media platforms and online advertisers. Understanding the privacy issues raised by targeted advertising is an important part of digital literacy.
So, what to do if you don’t like ads?
A common approach people take to avoid seeing online advertisements is to install ad blocking technologies, including browser extensions that hide unwanted ads on websites. The two most popular ad blockers are Adblock Plus and Ghostery. [4] Ad blockers promise users greater control over their browsing, protection against ads with malware and tracking, and faster, more efficient page loading. [8] Browser extensions are just one facet of a larger tendency termed “advertising avoidance,” which refers to the ways individuals avoid exposure to advertisements. [2] Advertising avoidance is not a novel concept and includes more analog activities such as switching radio stations during commercial breaks. However, the topic of advertising avoidance and ad blocking has risen in profile with the advent of the internet and its reliance on online advertising.
Complexities around ad blocking technologies
Despite their utopian promise of an ad-free, secure web, ad blocking technologies are not without complexities and controversies. These include the “whitelisting” features of ad blocking services, in which advertisers can pay to ensure they will not be blocked. [6] AdBlock Plus, for example, allows for what they term acceptable ads which are “respectful” ads which are not “intrusive or annoying”. [1] While it could be argued that all advertisements are to some extent intrusive, these moves by ad blocking companies also call into question the very principles of ad blocking as advertising avoidance. As José Estrada-Jiménez et al. (2017) note, Adblock Plus faced criticism once it became clear that they were being paid by advertising companies to whitelist them. The company responded by explaining their rationale and stressing that Adblock Plus is “not an all-or-nothing ad blocker”. [7]
Concerns have also been raised around the potential for ad blocking to contribute to a “shift from the open web”. [8] As most of the free content on the internet is sustained by money generated from online advertising, it has been argued that ad blocking may increase the amount of web content blocked by paywalls. Some websites have now implemented filters that restrict access to content for users who have an ad blocker enabled – blocking the blockers, if you will. For example, in 2016, WIRED decided to make their website content accessible only to those without ad blockers. They presented two options for readers: first, to “whitelist” WIRED.com, which allows ads to appear, or to subscribe for $1/week to an ad-free version of WIRED.com. [9] These decisions were justified by an argument that the increased advertising revenue would go toward supporting improved content for users.
Conclusion and Recommendations
So, the question remains: to ad block or not to ad block? Ultimately the decision rests with you. Either way, it is important to become aware of how your personal data and browsing activity is being monitored and tracked. While we can’t know exactly what’s inside Facebook’s “Black Box” of advertising algorithms, there are steps you can take to increase your control over the advertisements you see.
One simple action includes changing your ad settings on Facebook by navigating to the “Settings” page, then Ads. On this page you will find information about which advertisers you have seen the most, which ads you have clicked on, and which categories Facebook has used to profile you for relevant ads. From there, you can adjust your preferences through the Ad settings page. You can also turn off ad personalization on your Google account, and see the assumptions Google has made about you and your interests based on your browsing activity – some of them might surprise you!
If you’re interested in digital privacy and surveillance, you can learn more through other Digital Tattoo blog posts like this one on data sharing between WhatsApp and Facebook, or this one on tracking behavioural data providers with Ghostery.
How do you feel about targeted advertising? Do you use an ad blocker? How do you think we can develop online advertising models that support creators without compromising users’ privacy?
References
[1] Adblock Plus. (n.d.). Allowing acceptable ads in Adblock Plus. https://adblockplus.org/en/acceptable-ads.
[2] de Gregorio, F., Jung, J., & Sung, Y (2017, July). Advertising avoidance: A consumer socialization perspective. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 7(3), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.29333/ojcmt/2597.
[3] Edelman, G. (2020, March 22). Why don’t we just ban targeted advertising? WIRED. https://www.wired.com/story/why-dont-we-just-ban-targeted-advertising/.
[4] Estrada-Jiménez, J., Parra-Arnau, J., Rodríguez-Hoyos, A., & Forné, J. (2017). Online advertising: Analysis of privacy threats and protection approaches. Computer Communications, 100(1), 32-51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.comcom.2016.12.016. [note: this resource is not open access]
[5] Goldman, A., & Vogt, PJ (Hosts). (2017, November 2). Is Facebook Spying on You? (No. 109) [Audio podcast episode]. In Reply All. Gimlet Media. https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/z3hlwr/109-is-facebook-spying-on-you.
[6] Hern, A. (2013, October 14). Adblock Plus: The tiny plugin threatening the internet’s business model. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/oct/14/the-tiny-german-company-threatening-the-internets-business-model.
[7] Lazauskas, J. (2016, September 14). ‘We’re not selling ads’: Adblock Plus responds to backlash about its acceptable ads platform. Contently. https://contently.com/2016/09/14/adblock-plus-platform-backlash/.
[8] Thomas, J. (2018). Programming, filtering, adblocking: Advertising and media automation. Media International Australia, 166(1), 34-43. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1329878X17738787. [note: this resource is not open access]
[9] WIRED Staff. (2016, February 8). How WIRED is Going to Handle Ad Blocking. WIRED. https://www.wired.com/how-wired-is-going-to-handle-ad-blocking/.
Written by Laura Moberg
Edited by Rachael Bradshaw
Featured image Adblock by Dave from Flickr via CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
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