What is it about?

This study investigates how prescription drug websites gather and utilize consumer data through tracking technologies, revealing an interconnected system that benefits prescription drug marketers and big technology, while consumers remain unaware. The research sheds light on the hidden dynamics between these websites, big tech, and uninformed consumers, raising ethical questions about privacy and data use.

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Why is it important?

Do you like being followed? Of course not. So, when drug companies operating on the Web employ trackers, it doesn't seem to be an ethical practice. Consumers unknowingly go along, if for no other reason, than they are unaware of such practices.

Perspectives

It has been said that what you can't see won't hurt you. However, when it comes to websites and apps there are technologies on the backstage that are collecting user data. When it comes to prescription drug websites that data can be used in ways that are not ethical, especially when it comes to privacy.

Neil Alperstein
Loyola University Maryland

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: The use of tracker technologies on branded prescription drug websites: privacy, data acquisition and programmatic advertising, International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, February 2024, Emerald,
DOI: 10.1108/ijphm-02-2022-0015.
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