Project summary

Challenge: While online tracking and the use of Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs) are extensively studied, research is heavily concentrated in the EU and US as demonstrated by my own work [1-3]. There is a critical knowledge gap regarding digital practices, awareness, and regulatory links concerning tracking protection in emerging digital economies, particularly in Africa. This gap is exacerbated by unique regional factors: nascent data protection laws and the prevalence of mobile-first internet access, making EU/US findings non-transferable.

Aim: To conduct the first comprehensive socio-technical study in Ghana—a rapidly digitalizing West African nation—to understand the disparities between tracking protection mechanisms available to users and the methods they actually employ.

Research Questions

1. System and Compliance: How do the most-used commercial websites in Ghana present tracking information and PETs, and how do these practices align with Ghana’s emerging data protection laws?

2. User Awareness and Practice: How do Ghanaian internet users (especially those relying on mobile devices) learn about PETs, what methods do they use for tracking protection, and what factors influence their adoption?

3. Disparity Analysis: What disparities exist between the PETs offered by systems and the methods adopted by users, and how do cultural and infrastructural factors (e.g., cost of data, mobile-only access) drive this gap?

Methodology

• Study 1 (System Evaluation): Conduct a systematic analysis of the top 50-100 most-visited Ghanaian websites (e.g., news, banking, telecom, e-commerce). Evaluate their compliance with local regulations and analyze the complexity of opting-in vs. opting-out of tracking, similar to the EU methodology [1-2], adapted for mobile platforms.

• Study 2 (User Survey): Implement a multi-method user study, combining a quantitative survey across Ghana’s major urban centers with an online survey of diverse users. This will assess awareness, sources of information for PETs, perceived effectiveness, and practical barriers (e.g., data cost, literacy) to protection. This will be an online study, inspired by [2-3]; however, given the inaccessibility of standard recruitment platforms like Prolific in Ghana, we require a local Ghanaian partner to ensure the feasibility and ethical integrity of participant recruitment and study execution.

Expected outcomes

This research will produce foundational data essential for designing effective, localized digital protection strategies in Africa. Outcomes include the identification of unique dark patterns prevalent in mobile-first economies, and concrete recommendations for local regulators and international NGOs on improving digital literacy and the usability of PETs for citizens with low digital resources. The project will establish a new international research partnership with a Ghanaian university (Ashesi University) to build regional expertise in cyber safety.

References:

[1] Mehrnezhad. "A cross-platform evaluation of privacy notices and tracking practices." IEEE European Symposium on Security and Privacy Workshops (EuroS&PW), 2020.

[2] Mehrnezhad, Coopamootoo, Toreini. "How can and would people protect from online tracking?." Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies, 2022.

[3] Coopamootoo, Mehrnezhad, Toreini. “Individuals' Feelings about Online Tracking and their Protective Behaviour across Gender and Country." 31st USENIX Security Symposium, 2022.