Internet Provider (Charter) Halts Plan to Track, Sell Users' Surfing Data

[Newsjock]

Source: Washington Post

Charter Communications, the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, announced yesterday that it has backed off a plan to monitor customers' Internet transmissions.

The company had been planning to harvest the stream of data from each Internet customer for clues to their interests and then make money from advertisers who would use the information to target online pitches.

The data-collection effort would have protected personal information, Charter officials said in describing the plan, but critics likened the practice to wiretapping.

... Charter had anticipated testing the program in June in four cities -- Fort Worth; Oxford, Mass.; Newtown, Conn.; and San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/24/AR2008062401033.html?nav=rss_email/components

[KillCapitalism]

1. This is good news.

I have Charter.

[shraby]

2. So do I

[Occulus]

3. As do I- for *everything*

Telephone, cable, and internet. I think all three of us and everyone else here who uses Charter should try to watch this situation in the future, and see if they try to backdoor the whole thing.

Was Charter one of the companies involved in the NSA wiretapping? I thought I'd read at one point that they said no, but I might be mistaken at this point...

[riverdeep]

4. It's just a matter of time.

For them this is a delay, not a defeat.

Bob Dykes, chief executive of NebuAd, the company providing the monitoring service to Charter, said his firm will work with Charter to create a system that can be adopted.

"It's clear we need further education in Washington and elsewhere to address the concerns of privacy advocates," Dykes said. The message that the technology protects privacy "hasn't been understood by everyone."

Deep packet inspection represents a significant expansion in the ability to track a household's Web use because it taps into Internet connections. Critics liken it to a phone company listening in on conversations.

'Need further education' translates into lobbying in Washington, bribes and favors to our esteemed officials, and distorted ads run about it's critics.

Besides, most of the American public is so ambivalent about privacy concerns, that it'll be easy.