Privacy Promise vs. Tracking Reality in Pay-or-Tracking Walls
(A2024-119441)

AUTHORS

Timo Mueller-Tribbensee, Goethe University Frankfurt

ABSTRACT

European websites increasingly adopt pay-or-tracking walls, sometimes known as “cookie paywalls” or “pay-or-okay” walls. These walls require users to pay a fee for privacy or consent to be tracked in exchange for website access. However, recent studies suggest that websites continue to track users even when paying the fee, constituting user deception. This paper assesses whether websites employing a pay-or-tracking wall keep their promise to paying users and safeguard their privacy. Collecting and examining data on 341 websites reveals that 36.3 % of the websites break their privacy promise. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that websites participating in the offering of a larger provider better keep their privacy promises than other websites. The results imply that regulators should tighten control over websites’ tracking but also consider fostering larger providers in the privacy landscape that have the relevant knowledge to implement privacy-preserving solutions.