Selling Surfing Info —

Blumenthal: Charter Internet Tracking ‘Potentially Illegal’

By John Voket

State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said this week he is strongly concerned about a “potentially illegal” test program targeting Newtown Charter Internet customers. A growing number of critics, including federal officials, suggest the program, one of four in the United States, is essentially spying on the Web-surfing activities of its customers with the apparent intent of selling that data to an online-ad firm called NebuAd for use in targeted advertising.

The tracking is set to begin in June in Fort Worth, Texas; San Luis Obispo, Calif.; Oxford, Mass.; and Newtown. When apprised of the issue by The Bee on Tuesday, Mr Blumenthal vowed to immediately contact Charter officials, “and challenge them to justify this potentially illegal practice.”

“I am strongly concerned for the privacy of Newtown consumers whose personal, confidential information may be collected and sold,” Mr Blumenthal said. He said the practice raises serious questions under the Federal Communications Act and under other federal laws, and “involves no clear or effective consent by subscribers.”

Those questions are also being raised by federal authorities including Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, and Representative Joe Barton (R-TX), Ranking Member on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

On May 16, those officials dispatched a letter to Charter Communications echoing Mr Blumenthal’s serious concerns about the company’s plans to track the web browsing habits of its customers and then disclosing this data to the ad firm. The congressmen specifically took issue with Charter’s apparent plan to set opt-out “cookies” in users’ computers that seem to create an undue burden on Charter Internet customers’ who want to keep their browsing information confidential.

“Charter Communications’ reported plans to sell information about their customers’ activities online raises several red flags,” Rep Markey said in a statement on his congressional website.

“Simply providing a method for users to opt-out of the program is not the same has asking users to affirmatively agree to participate in the program. These privacy issues and how this venture is consistent with communications privacy laws must be addressed before the company moves forward with this plan,” Rep Markey continued.

Charter Communications is the fourth-largest cable system in the United States. According to media reports. the company is planning to start keeping track of every website consumers visit and then disclose the data to NebuAd.

Communications Act Cited

Reps Markey and Barton’s letter refers to Section 631 of the Communications Act, which contains privacy provisions regarding cable operators.

The letter states: “Any service to which a subscriber does not affirmatively subscribe and that can result in the collection of information about the web-related habits and interests of a subscriber, or a subscriber’s use of the operator’s services, or the identification of an individual subscriber, and archives any of these results without the ‘prior written or electronic consent of the subscriber,’ raises substantial questions related to Section 631.”

A letter circulated to Newtown Charter Internet subscribers describes the program as “an enhancement” to customers’ web browsing experiences that is more customized to their interests and activities.

“As a result, the advertising you typically see online will better reflect the interests you express through your web-surfing activity,” the letter continues. “You will not see more ads — just ads that are more relevant to you.” The letter states that the “service” was designed to ensure that customers’ privacy will continue to be protected.

“Your personal information will remain confidential and your online activity will never be linked by anyone to your individual identity through this service. The service is completely anonymous and does not collect or use any information that identifies you or your family,” the letter concludes.

Harvard computer science PhD Robert Fischer, who has been following developments related to this story, contacted The Bee May 19 to express his concern. His father, Yale computer science professor Michael Fischer, was the pioneer of VoteSmart CT, a grassroots initiative that launched in Newtown, which was critical of certain computer voting machines the state was considering purchasing in 2005.

He pointed to an April feature in The Washington Post that indicates NebuAd already has agreements with Internet providers covering ten percent of US broadband customers, perhaps more than 100,000 users. While he is critical of the practice, Dr Fischer credits Charter with providing some communication with customers about the program.

“So many companies simply make changes to the fine print in their user agreements and put the monitoring into practice,” he said.

The attorney general said this project should alert Internet service subscribers to be diligent in their review of service agreements and updates to those agreements that may be dispatched in emails.

“People should focus on the fine print,” Mr Blumenthal said. “But companies have the obligation to provide information in clean, readable language.”

Charter May Be Insulated

The attorney general said Charter may have ultimately insulated itself from exposure because it was not clear to him who may be doing the actual selling of information. A Charter spokesperson, however, told The Bee the company has an agreement with NebuAd to provide this service, and that NebuAd has the relationship with advertisers and publishers.

“But Charter bears the responsibility,” Mr Blumenthal said. “There is no apparent opportunity for subscribers to firmly indicate permission to provide the information before it is monitored.”

Jeff Chester of the consumer rights organization Center for Digital Democracy criticized the plan, saying it would be the first of its kind among major Internet service providers.

“Charter has moved into the front lines in the battle over ensuring privacy online,” Mr Chester said. “There is a huge concern about websites and search engine companies tracking what people do.”

Subscribers can opt out of the tracking, though they must provide their name and address to install an opt-out cookie on their computer. Dr Fischer said that the opt-out cookie has many drawbacks.

“Subscribers need to keep the cookie activated in every computer using the ISP, and with every user account,” he said. “In my house, that means I have to keep track of 18 cookies with three computers and three user accounts.”

Both Dr Fischer and Mr Chester say Charter should instead offer subscribers the ability to opt in if they want to participate.

When contacted by The Bee, Anita Lamont, a spokesperson for Charter Communications in St Louis, explained that local subscribers are being targeted for this program because the technology systems already in place in these markets are the most readily compatible with the service.

Ms Lamont likened browsing the web to “flipping through a magazine, where ads that you see are appealing and enhance the utility of the experience.” She said that the NebuAd technology is not, in and of itself, a product or service but rather an enhancement to Charter’s existing high-speed Internet service.

“We do have the right to update our products and services,” she said. “We don’t always provide customers the ability to opt-out of such enhancements/upgrades, but in this case we have established an opt-out mechanism.”

Ms Lamont said the company’s customer agreement incorporates a privacy policy and Accessible Use Policy, which clearly explains how Charter collects, uses, stores and/or discloses customer information. That Internet service agreement is available at www.charter.com.

Mr Blumenthal said he will likely be contacting fellow attorney generals in the other three pilot states to determine if and how they are addressing the matter.

(Associated Press reports were used in this story.)