Protecting privacy on the web: A study of HTTPS and Google Analytics implementation in academic library websites

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which HTTPS encryption and Google Analytics services have been implemented on academic library websites, and discuss the privacy implications of free services that introduce web tracking of users.Design/methodology/approachThe home pages o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Online information review 2018-09, Vol.42 (6), p.734-751
Main Authors: O’Brien, Patrick, W.H. Young, Scott, Arlitsch, Kenning, Benedict, Karl
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic libraries
Access to Information
Advertising
Behavior Patterns
Bill of Rights-US
Consent
Data integrity
Encryption
Guidelines
Home pages
Informed consent
International Organizations
Librarians
Libraries
Library associations
Library Personnel
Library Science
Library Services
Literature Reviews
Mathematical analysis
Networks
Principles
Privacy
Profiles
Psychological Patterns
Right of privacy
Third party
Tracking
Trust
User behavior
User profiles
Web analytics
Websites
Wireless networks
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Summary:PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which HTTPS encryption and Google Analytics services have been implemented on academic library websites, and discuss the privacy implications of free services that introduce web tracking of users.Design/methodology/approachThe home pages of 279 academic libraries were analyzed for the presence of HTTPS, Google Analytics services and privacy-protection features.FindingsResults indicate that HTTPS implementation on library websites is not widespread, and many libraries continue to offer non-secured connections without an automatically enforced redirect to a secure connection. Furthermore, a large majority of library websites included in the study have implemented Google Analytics and/or Google Tag Manager, yet only very few connect securely to Google via HTTPS or have implemented Google Analytics IP anonymization.Practical implicationsLibrarians are encouraged to increase awareness of this issue and take concerted and coherent action across five interrelated areas: implementing secure web protocols (HTTPS), user education, privacy policies, informed consent and risk/benefit analyses.Originality/valueThird-party tracking of users is prevalent across the web, and yet few studies demonstrate its extent and consequences for academic library websites.
ISSN:1468-4527
1468-4535
DOI:10.1108/OIR-02-2018-0056