Document de travail

Privacy Protection, Security, and Consumer Retention

Bruno Jullien, Yassine Lefouili et Michael Riordan

Résumé

A website monetizes information it collects about its customers by charging third parties for targeted access to them. Allowing for third parties who are well-intentioned, a nuisance, or even malicious, the resulting consumer experiences might be good, bad, or neutral. As consumers learn from experience, the website especially risks losing those customers who suffer a bad experience. Customer retention thus motivates the website to be cautious about monetization, or to spend resources to screen third parties. We study the website's equilibrium privacy policy, its welfare properties, competition in the market for information, and the impact of regulations improving transparency and consumer control.

Mots-clés

Privacy Policy; Consumer Retention; Personal Data; Regulation;

Codes JEL

  • D83: Search • Learning • Information and Knowledge • Communication • Belief
  • L15: Information and Product Quality • Standardization and Compatibility
  • L51: Economics of Regulation

Référence

Bruno Jullien, Yassine Lefouili et Michael Riordan, « Privacy Protection, Security, and Consumer Retention », TSE Working Paper, n° 18-947, août 2018, révision juin 2020.

Voir aussi

Publié dans

TSE Working Paper, n° 18-947, août 2018, révision juin 2020