Assignments > Tutorial 1: Analyze an Internet Platform

Due on Sun, 08/27 @ 11:59PM. 6 Points.

In today’s tutorial, we will examine how platforms and ad networks store, analyze and act on the data they collect about their users, and specifically how this works on a Web Browser. To do this, we will first define some technical concepts and terms (e.g., HTTP requests, cookies, and third-party cookies, etc.), and then do two short activities.

Readings

Required

• Data Privacy: 10 Reasons Why Data Privacy Matters. Daniel Solove, 2014.
• Censorship: Internet Censorship in 2022: The Impact of Internet Restrictions. Aliza Vigderman & Gabe Turner.

Optional

These resources (video and podcast) are for your reference (recommended, but not required):

• WSJ (7 mins): Third-party cookies, explained
• Podcast (26 minutes): The history and future of the cookie

Slides

• Tutorial 1: Background Information

Activities

1. Analyze a website
2. How do platforms understand who you are?

What to turn in

• Please submit your answers from Activity 2 to the Moodle. To do this, make a copy of the Google Doc and answer the questions listed on page 2.