Internet

Loss Functions for Predicted Click-Through Rates in Auctions for Online Advertising

Online ads are usually purchased in auctions. Auction participants sometimes misestimate the likelihood that users will click on an ad, resulting in economic loss. This paper develops a new method of estimating such losses called the “empirical loss function.”

Blind Spot: The Attention Economy and the Law

Firms like Google and Facebook rely on consumer attention, a limited resource. Consumer protection laws and antitrust law assume that harm must be monetary, and do not effectively control problems that arise from unwanted intrusions on our attention.

The Aisles Have Eyes: How Retailers Track Your Shopping, Strip Your Privacy, and Define Your Power

Increasingly, retailers use technologies such as smartphone apps to track and profile shoppers are they shop in retail stores. Retailers profile consumers and treat some differently than others. Most consumers are unaware of retailers’ tracking and profiling.

The Ten Most Important Section 230 Rulings

Under Section 230 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, websites are not legally responsible for content posted on the site by others. A few cases suggest that immunity does not extend to sites that encourage unlawful content.

Machine Learning in an Auction Environment

In online auctions to determine which ads will be displayed, ads that have received many clicks compete against new ads of unknown appeal. This paper describes the best strategy for the auctioneer to use in ranking competing ads, when the appeal of some ads is unknown.

Can an Algorithm be Agonistic? Ten Scenes from Life in Calculated Publics

Public spaces like YouTube use algorithms to search, rank, and recommend information. Algorithms produce “winners” in information contests, but with little visibility or accountability.

The Privacy Policymaking of State Attorneys General

State attorneys general (AGs) play a crucial role in shaping privacy norms. AGs act nimbly to fill gaps in the law and address local concerns, often hearing of privacy or data security problems before federal regulators. State enforcement has not unduly burdened businesses.

The Economics of Privacy

Consumers and firms face trade-offs in deciding when to protect or disclose personal information. Whether privacy makes consumers, firms, or society as a whole better off varies widely depending on the context. Consumers often lack information about how data will be used.

Ideology and Online News

Online, we have access to many news sites, but can choose which sites we visit. This might create an “echo chamber,” as people choose sites that confirm existing bias. However, Internet users tend to visit centrist sites as well as extreme sites.

Data Supply Chains: The Social, Cultural & Ethical Dimensions of “Big Data”

The movement of data between actors and organizations creates data supply chains. This paper raises key questions about the combination of commercial data with public records to profile consumers. The ownership of this data is often unclear.