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Transparency in Open Government Data Portals: An Assessment of Web Tracking Practices Across Europe

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Electronic Participation (ePart 2024)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 14891))

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Abstract

Online web analytics and web tracking, including the use of first-party and third-party cookies, are often perceived as a “black box”. Both rely on the collection of large amounts of data for various purposes - functional, analytical, and marketing - often without the user’s knowledge, for legitimate purposes such as improving the user experience, as well as more controversial reasons such as targeted advertising. This issue is reinforced by Google’s dominant position in web analytics, particularly through the widespread integration 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 transparency and accessibility for individuals. These initiatives often use open government 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 (especially in relation to the presence of third-party cookies), transparency, and the possibility of transitioning to more ethically responsible analytics technologies in government digital services. We propose several practical recommendations for governments to improve their privacy efforts, including removing tracking practices, adopting open source analytics solutions, conducting regular audits, and improving public awareness of web tracking practices.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For an explanation about cookies and frame groups please refer to Google Chrome devtools documentation (reference in bibliography).

  2. 2.

    The analysis of cookies on OGD portals provides a temporal snapshot that could differ due to site updates, geographical regulations, user behavior, and the browser or device utilized (e.g. system customizations or web tracking countermeasures).

  3. 3.

    For a more detailed explanation of cookies categories, please visit Cookiepedia: https://cookiepedia.co.uk/classify-cookies.

  4. 4.

    The counts presented in Fig. 2 represent the number of different types of cookies that were observed, not the total number of cookie. Each cookie type, regardless of its frequency across multiple sites, contributes only once to its category’s tally. For instance, despite the _ga cookie appearing on numerous pages, it is counted as a single entry in the analytical category.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant number 212637). We would like to give a special thanks to Hugo Hueber, research engineer at the University of Lausanne, for his support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration, University of Lausanne, Chavannes-près-Renens, Switzerland

    Stefan Stepanovic, Leonardo Mori, Alizée Francey & Tobias Mettler

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  1. Stefan Stepanovic
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  2. Leonardo Mori
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  3. Alizée Francey
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  4. Tobias Mettler
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Correspondence to Stefan Stepanovic .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of South-Eastern Norway, Borre, Norway

    Marius Rohde Johannessen

  2. Corvinus University of Budapest, Budapest, Hungary

    Csaba Csáki

  3. Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Lieselot Danneels

  4. University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway

    Sara Hofmann

  5. University for Continuing Education Krems, Krems, Austria

    Thomas Lampoltshammer

  6. University for Continuing Education Krems, Krems, Austria

    Peter Parycek

  7. Zürich University, Zurich, Switzerland

    Gerhard Schwabe

  8. University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Efthimios Tambouris

  9. Technical University Delft, Delft, The Netherlands

    Jolien Ubacht

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Stepanovic, S., Mori, L., Francey, A., Mettler, T. (2024). Transparency in Open Government Data Portals: An Assessment of Web Tracking Practices Across Europe. In: Johannessen, M.R., et al. Electronic Participation. ePart 2024. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14891. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-70804-6_14

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