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Zachary Davis
CST 300 Writing Lab
7 October 2023
Promotion or Privacy
With the advancement of technology in the 21st century, advertisers have found a more

effective way of reaching their target audiences. Due to the internet, targeted advertising has

become more advanced. By a user visiting an application on the internet, advertisers have been

able to collect data on the visiting user’s preferences, interests, and habits to present the user with

specific advertisements they are more likely to interact with. With digital advertising spending

reaching over $491 billion in 2021, and the previous expectation that it would reach $500 billion

in 2022 (Froehlich 2022), targeted advertising has become a major market. However, this growth

poses a significant issue for some.

While businesses implementing online targeted advertising collect data about their users,

some people have taken issue with the method in which their data is collected. One aspect of

targeted advertisement that makes users feel uneasy is the tracking that advertisers find necessary

to properly implement targeted advertisement in an online setting. Another aspect is the way in

which advertisers collect and analyze an individual’s online behavior. With a goal of targeted

advertising being to make advertisements more relevant to the individual viewing them, the

process in which this is achieved online makes users question their freedom online. By collecting

data points from users and analyzing them, essentially to build a user advertisement profile,

individuals begin to feel as though all their activity online is under surveillance. With the process

of collection, analysis, and tracking for targeted advertising, users ultimately begin to feel as

though targeted advertising is an invasion of privacy.

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Targeted advertising has been an issue since the 1920s. According to Levin, “In the

1920s, advertisers began to target specific groups of people based on their age, gender, income,

and location. This allowed advertisers to create more effective campaigns that reached

their target audience more effectively” (Levin 2022). What enabled this targeting in the 1920s

was the growing popularity of radio and television. These technologies enabled communication

with a large audience across long distances, which also allowed for more precise demographic

targeting. While communication with radio and television would enable targeted advertising,

targeted advertising would become a greater issue in the 2000s with the rise of digital

advertising. With digital advertisement, it became easier for advertisers to target demographics

and ascertain their interests, preferences, and behavior. By monitoring a user’s engagement

online and collecting data about their searches or any other activity, the user could be presented

with more personalized advertisements based on the results of their analyzed data. With the mass

collection and analytics of user data online, some users take issue with the idea of advertisers

“invading their privacy” to ascertain their interests. However, others may see targeted advertising

as a benefit, connecting them with what they want to see.

Stakeholder Analysis

One stakeholder in this issue is companies who implement online targeted advertising on

their platform. Some of their values, stated by YouTube, are growing businesses, reaching new

customers, attaining greater customer traffic, and connecting businesses with their targeted

demographic (YouTube 2023). Other values that these stakeholders have are providing users with

relevant products and services, as well as growing and maintaining their own platform with

revenue generated from targeted advertising. According to The Conversation, “Commercial

targeted advertising is the primary source of revenue in the internet economy …” (Milano et al.
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2021). With digital advertisement being a key source of revenue for companies operating a

platform online, it is seen as a mutual benefit between the companies seeking and providing

advertisement space. Companies seeking space to advertise themselves can connect with

potential customers as well as provide customers with products which they believe would benefit

their lives. Additionally, with the revenue gained from customers purchasing advertisement

space, targeted advertisement serves to assist the growth and maintenance of the advertiser to

continue operating a platform to serve advertisements. Companies implementing targeted

advertising claim that they provide value to their users, businesses, and individuals, by helping

them grow their business, attain customers, as well as showing users products that they like.

Another stakeholder in the issue of targeted advertising is the internet users. Some of

their values are privacy, control over data that is collected and used, and understanding of the

risks associated with collecting their data. Pew Research states, “79% of adults assert they are

very or somewhat concerned about how companies are using the data they collect about them”

(Auxier et al. 2019). The position internet users hold is that they want to ensure that their data

isn’t being collected and analyzed without their consent as well as wanting to have control over

their data. For users, it would be ideal to have complete control over which of their data can and

can’t be collected by companies. Internet users make claims of value according to their belief

that they have a right to privacy or anonymity on the internet, or the right to decide what their

data is used for. Targeted advertising is a contentious topic, which is apparent by the differing

positions held by internet users and the companies implementing targeted advertising on the

internet. While on one hand companies collect their users’ data to show more relevant

advertising, the way in which user’s data is collected and handled by these companies is eerie for

some of their users. Should companies collect users’ data to implement targeted advertising?
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Stakeholder Arguments

Companies implementing online targeted advertising use the utilitarianism framework to

argue that collecting their user’s data to implement targeted advertising is ethical. The principle

of the utilitarian framework is that what is right is determined by providing more good than bad

to everyone affected. According to Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the first systematic

account of utilitarianism was developed by Jeremy Benham (Driver 2014). Using the utilitarian

framework, companies implementing online targeted advertising would stake out that collecting

the data of their users provides the most utility to their users and partners. While users provide

their data to the companies, informing advertisers which ads should target which users, this

transaction creates a positive outcome from the view of the companies. One outcome is that

individuals will have a better browsing experience on the internet due to being shown content

they are more likely to enjoy. Another outcome is that those individuals and businesses

partnering with the companies providing targeted advertising gain exposure due to their visibility

being amplified as well as being connected with a user base that is more likely to be interested in

their product. Another important outcome is that the companies providing the advertisement gain

an important source of revenue by allowing partners to pay for advertisement space or time. For

the companies providing advertising, losing the ability to collect users’ data to perform targeted

advertisement would be detrimental. Without being able to target users with the precision

afforded to them by collecting user data, companies would lose advertisement revenue. By losing

targeting effectiveness, partners would no longer want to pay for a company’s advertisement

service. Additionally, users could begin to see meaningful advertisements that would reduce their

browsing experience. By losing the ability to effectively connect businesses with their targeted

demographic, not being able to help small businesses grow through the exposure afforded to
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them by targeted advertising, and hampering the browsing experiences of their users, it could be

seen as unethical to not collect user data for targeted advertising as it would provide the most the

most utility from the standpoint of the companies.

Internet users would use the individual relativism framework to argue that companies

collecting data from their users to serve them targeted advertisements is unethical. The principle

of the individual relativism framework is that right and wrong is defined according to each

individual. According to Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, John Grote was most likely the

first to use relativism by writing about it in his book Exploratio Philosophica (Baghramain

2022). Using individual relativism, internet users would argue that companies should let

individual users control what data is allowed to be collected from them. In addition, they would

argue that companies should be required to be transparent about why they are collecting user data

and what it’s being used for. According to Pew Research Center, “Majority of Americans feel as

if they have little control over data collected about them by companies and the government”

(Auxier et al. 2019). Given this belief, the argument by internet users is the correct course of

action as internet users don’t want companies to farm their online data without their consent, and

believe they have the right to their own data. This argument fits into the individual relativism

framework as it complies with the principle that right and wrong is defined by each individual.

By letting users control what data is allowed to be collected, everyone is allowed to determine

what data is right or wrong for companies to collect and can take action on their own to ensure

companies are acting in a way that aligns with their ethical framework. With this course of action

internet users gain control and understanding over what their data is used for, and as a result

improved privacy. If companies continue to collect the data from their users, individuals will
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continue to feel as though their right to privacy is being infringed upon and that they are being

watched.

Conclusion

I believe that companies implementing targeted advertisement on the internet overreach

with how they collect their user’s information. While I agree there is some benefit to seeing more

relevant advertisements in some instances, it is unreasonable and moreover unethical to

implement a policy of collecting all user data regardless of a user’s preferences. A user should

always be in control of their data, especially when their data is being used to potentially

influence consumer behavior. While I place some onus on users to ensure they are taking steps to

keep their data private and secure, I believe the most ethical option would be for companies to

take steps to ensure a user’s data sharing preferences are respected. To do this, companies should

be more transparent about the data they are collecting and allow users to opt out of all or specific

data collection. While I believe targeted advertising and collecting user information can be

beneficial to an internet user’s experience, the method in which a user’s data is collected must be

determined by the owner of the data. With this position, I align most with other internet users.

To achieve an experience online in which internet users can be confident that their

privacy isn’t being invaded by the constant collection and analysis of their data, action must be

taken. One step that could be taken is that when users access resources online, the default

standard is that a user’s data is not collected. By implementing this single step, internet users can

be confident that when they are accessing any resource on the web, they will not be subject to

monitoring. However due to this standard, some users who find using their data to improve

targeted advertising be beneficial may miss out. To resolve this, companies implementing

targeted advertisement should be extremely transparent about the data being collected, then allow
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each user fine control over the specific data they want the company to collect. With this

recommendation, each user can tailor their browsing experience to their liking. Advertisers will

continue to benefit from users who appreciate the experience created by their advertisements,

and users who are more conscious of their privacy benefit knowing their data isn’t being

collected.
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References

Auxier, B., Rainie, L., Anderson, M., Perrin, A., Kumar, M., & Turner, E. (2019, November 15).

Americans and Privacy: Concerned, Confused and Feeling Lack of Control Over Their

Personal Information. Pew Research

Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2019/11/15/americans-and-privacy-

concerned-confused-and-feeling-lack-of-control-over-their-personal-information/

Baghramian, Maria and J. Adam Carter, "Relativism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of

Philosophy (Spring 2022 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.).

https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2022/entries/relativism

Driver, J. (2014, September 22). The History of Utilitarianism. In Stanford Encyclopedia of

Philosophy (Winter 2014 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.)

https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2022/entries/utilitarianism-history

Froehlich, N. (2022, February 24). The Truth In User Privacy And Targeted Ads.

Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/02/24/the-truth-in-user-

privacy-and-targeted-ads/?sh=42e5a0d5355e

Levin. (2022, November 4). Who Did Advertising And Marketing Industries Target First.

WoodWardAvenue. https://woodwardavenue.org/who-did-advertising-and-marketing-

industries-target-first/

Milano, S., Mittelstadt, B., & Wachter, S. (2021, July 13). Targeted ads isolate and divide us even

when they’re not political – new research. The

Conversation. https://theconversation.com/targeted-ads-isolate-and-divide-us-even-when-

theyre-not-political-new-research-163669
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YouTube. (n.d.). Use Video Targeting to Reach Your Audience - YouTube Advertising. Retrieved

September 26, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/intl/en_us/ads/?subid=us-en-adon-

yt-bi-c-skphr!o3~f14d0baa0541159049a16eb997f3f7b0~p77544129372~