Titre
Tracking Transparency in Open Government Data Portals: An Assessment of Web Analytics Practices across Europe
Type
article de conférence/colloque
Institution
UNIL/CHUV/Unisanté + institutions partenaires
Série
Lecture Notes in Computer Science
Auteur(s)
Stepanovic, Stefan
Auteure/Auteur
Mori, Leonardo Jacopo
Auteure/Auteur
Francey, Alizée
Auteure/Auteur
Mettler, Tobias
Auteure/Auteur
Liens vers les personnes
Liens vers les unités
Maison d’édition
Springer
Titre du livre ou conférence/colloque
Electronic Participation
Unité
IFIP 8.5 WG in ICT & Public Administration Conference on EGOV 2024
Adresse
Ghent University and KU Leuven
Statut éditorial
Publié
Date de publication
2024-08-30
Volume
14891
Première page
209–222
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Langue
anglais
Résumé
Online web analytics and web tracking (through first-party and third-
party cookies) are often perceived as a "black box". They rely on the collection
of large amounts of data for various purposes - functional, analytical, and mar-
keting - often without the user's knowledge. This issue is reinforced by Google's
dominant position in web analytics, particularly through the widespread integra-
tion of Google Analytics (GA) into first-party cookies. At the same time, Europe
is witnessing a rise in open government initiatives, particularly in line with the
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which aim to increase data trans-
parency and accessibility for individuals. These initiatives often use open gov-
ernment data (OGD) portals as a means to disseminate government information.
Our study, therefore, examines such platforms across Europe to determine the
prevalence of web tracking activity and Google's potential involvement. Our
findings reveal a nuanced use of cookies within OGD portals, characterized by a
significant presence of GA cookies. This situation raises debates about privacy,
transparency, and the possibility of transitioning to more ethically responsible
tracking technologies in government digital services. We propose several practi-
cal recommendations for governments to improve their privacy efforts, including
minimizing tracking practices, adopting open source analytics solutions, con-
ducting regular audits, and improving public awareness of web tracking prac-
tices.
party cookies) are often perceived as a "black box". They rely on the collection
of large amounts of data for various purposes - functional, analytical, and mar-
keting - often without the user's knowledge. This issue is reinforced by Google's
dominant position in web analytics, particularly through the widespread integra-
tion of Google Analytics (GA) into first-party cookies. At the same time, Europe
is witnessing a rise in open government initiatives, particularly in line with the
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which aim to increase data trans-
parency and accessibility for individuals. These initiatives often use open gov-
ernment data (OGD) portals as a means to disseminate government information.
Our study, therefore, examines such platforms across Europe to determine the
prevalence of web tracking activity and Google's potential involvement. Our
findings reveal a nuanced use of cookies within OGD portals, characterized by a
significant presence of GA cookies. This situation raises debates about privacy,
transparency, and the possibility of transitioning to more ethically responsible
tracking technologies in government digital services. We propose several practi-
cal recommendations for governments to improve their privacy efforts, including
minimizing tracking practices, adopting open source analytics solutions, con-
ducting regular audits, and improving public awareness of web tracking prac-
tices.
PID Serval
serval:BIB_675B7A016574
Date de création
2024-05-02T06:48:54.814Z
Date de création dans IRIS
2025-05-21T04:29:45Z
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Nom
20240902_OGDTransparency.pdf
Version du manuscrit
postprint
Taille
352.29 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
PID Serval
serval:BIB_675B7A016574.P002
URN
urn:nbn:ch:serval-BIB_675B7A0165740
Somme de contrôle
(MD5):67343b74cd67d84e48107cbfdc84ce21