"The solutions are out of reach... Instead of action, there is only the illusion of vigilance."
Sampling has a big problem. It's not the rampant fraud.
The problem is the punishing experience people must endure when participating in online research. And everybody knows it's a problem.
It's more than just bad surveys. It is the consequence of a fully networked ecosystem where every single actor aims to maximize yield by bouncing people from router to router in the hope of finding them a survey to complete.
In the language of economics, the programmatic sampling industry suffers from multiple systemic and debilitating market failures that are driving real people away from participating in online research. No individual buyer or supplier is immune, and the industry has neither the will nor the reach to solve the problem.
But buyers and suppliers can take steps to mitigate the worst of the effects. While they won't be easy, they may be the only way they can preserve their assets and their businesses.