Commercial Communication in the Digital Age

Rolf H. Weber and Florent Thouvenin

3.2The Legal and Ethical Aspects of Collecting and Using Information about the Consumer

Abstract: On the Internet, consumers and citizens are increasingly monitored and tracked. The collection and use of information about consumers serves different goals, has various legal implications and raises important ethical questions. From a legal perspective, the most important issue is the compliance of such activities with data protection law. Today, such compliance is often doubtful given that the collection and use of information about consumers often lacks the transparency required by law and fails to meet the relatively high standard of informed consent. From an ethical perspective, transparency seems to be key ...