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Search Engines and Data Retention: Implications for Privacy and Antitrust

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Listed:
  • Lesley Chiou
  • Catherine Tucker

Abstract

This paper investigates whether larger quantities of historical data affect a firm's ability to maintain market share in Internet search. We study whether the length of time that search engines retained their server logs affected the apparent accuracy of subsequent searches. Our analysis exploits changes in these policies prompted by the actions of policymakers. We find little empirical evidence that reducing the length of storage of past search engine searches affected the accuracy of search. Our results suggest that the possession of historical data confers less of an advantage in market share than is sometimes supposed. Our results also suggest that limits on data retention may impose fewer costs in instances where overly long data retention leads to privacy concerns such as an individual's ``right to be forgotten."

Suggested Citation

  • Lesley Chiou & Catherine Tucker, 2017. "Search Engines and Data Retention: Implications for Privacy and Antitrust," NBER Working Papers 23815, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23815
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Avi Goldfarb & Catherine Tucker, 2012. "Privacy and Innovation," NBER Chapters, in: Innovation Policy and the Economy, Volume 12, pages 65-89, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Amalia R. Miller & Catherine Tucker, 2009. "Privacy Protection and Technology Diffusion: The Case of Electronic Medical Records," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(7), pages 1077-1093, July.
    3. Marianne Bertrand & Esther Duflo & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "How Much Should We Trust Differences-In-Differences Estimates?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(1), pages 249-275.
    4. Lesley Chiou & Catherine Tucker, 2012. "How Does the Use of Trademarks by Third-Party Sellers Affect Online Search?," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 31(5), pages 819-837, September.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • K21 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Antitrust Law
    • K24 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Cyber Law
    • K40 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - General

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