Tanya Kant traces the history of user tracking in an excerpt from her case study on algorithmic tracking. This history reminds us that the internet started as a free and open space where individuals could access information anonymously. As commercial interests developed online and advertising became the revenue source for large online companies, user tracking became more common, more refined, and in many cases more unjust. Of course, this history also highlights the fact that the internet might be changed dramatically in a different direction to avoid some of the problems which now appear inevitable.
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