A4 Refereed article in a conference publication

Analysis of User-Privacy, Third-Party Data Sharing and Consent Mechanism on Online Pharmacy Websites in Ontario




AuthorsIbodeng, Atikor; Bhutto, Zuhaibuddin; Yan, Yan; Rauti, Sampsa; Leppänen, Ville; Adelabu, Adegboola David

EditorsN/A

Conference nameInternational Conference on Pattern Recognition and Artificial Intelligence

Publication year2025

Book title 2025 IEEE 8th International Conference on Pattern Recognition and Artificial Intelligence (PRAI)

First page 902

Last page908

ISBN979-8-3315-7406-2

eISBN979-8-3315-7405-5

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1109/PRAI67447.2025.11412460

Publication's open availability at the time of reportingNo Open Access

Publication channel's open availability No Open Access publication channel

Web address https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11412460


Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the privacy practices of online pharmacy websites in Ontario, Canada, focusing on data sharing with third parties, privacy policies, and the effectiveness of consent mechanisms. To achieve this, we conducted a comprehensive analysis using both automatic and manual network traffic analysis methods. We analyzed the traffic flow of 109 pharmacy websites, assessing the presence of third-party services, the transmission of data to third parties, and the availability and clarity of privacy policies and consent forms. Our study indicates that a significant number of pharmacy websites in Ontario share sensitive health information with third-party entities, such as Google Analytics and Facebook, even without explicit user consent. Additionally, many of these websites lack comprehensive privacy policies and effective consent mechanisms. We aim to create awareness of the limitations of third-party data sharing, the adoption of clearer and more accessible privacy policies, and robust consent mechanisms crucial for protecting the privacy of user data.



Last updated on 10/03/2026 07:30:46 AM