Usage Statistics

Beyond the data willingly provided by users, value can be extracted by simply monitoring interactions with the digital service. A descriptive statistical analysis can indeed improve the value provided by the service as it can help to determine which features should be strengthened, improved, or abandoned. Expanding digital commons without knowing how they are used is like expanding a road network based solely on its map, without ever getting to see how people use it.

Moreover, if this data is not shared, a specific actor can make money from it without necessarily paying back the community that makes the service work.

Publishing

Service usage statistics, if collected, should therefore be made available under a license that allows their re-use.

A minimal common should make available the usage statistics for each feature of the service under a license that allows re-use.

Operational recommendation: display a public instance of the Matomo (or Xiti) tracking service, configured in compliance with CNIL regulations (or a similar institution of regulation). Specify that the data offered by this instance is available under an open license.

Copyleft Clause

Nevertheless, re-appropriation becomes possible if an ill-intentioned operator makes them available in a poorly readable format and keeps the exclusive right to use an analysis chain to extract value by cross-checking them with proprietary databases. To prevent this, if the database contains detailed information, it can be provided with a copyleft clause. Thus, any product derived from the database should also be made public and therefore accessible to the community.

It is useful to have a copyleft clause in the publication license for usage statistics.

Operational recommendation: in the previous recommendation, use an ODbL license instead of an Open License.