The House Energy and Commerce Committee has initiated an
inquiry into Internet network operators’ practices, after privacy concerns over
tracking consumers’ Web habits for targeted online advertising started to
emerge. A total of 33 top cable, phone and Internet companies have been asked
to provide information on their data collection practices.
“In order for us to better understand how companies may be
engaged in efforts to target Internet advertising, the impact of such efforts
on consumers, and broader public policy implications, we respectfully request that
you provide specific answers…,” wrote the letter signed by Chairman John D.
Dingell and Ranking Member Joe Barton of the Committee on Energy and Commerce,
and Chairman Edward J Markey and Ranking Member Cliff Stearns of the Telecommunications
and the Internet Subcommittee.
The Committee asked a total of 11 questions that the companies
are required to answer by Friday, August 8. Among them, the companies are asked
to describe the nature and extent of any of their targeted Internet practice, if
they engaged in such activities, to explain if such practices have had any
limitations regarding health, financial and other sensitive personal data, as
well as the nature of those limitations.
Furthermore, the companies were asked to provide the
criteria for choosing the communities to be targeted, the number of consumers subjected
to such practices, whether the consumers have been notified, including a copy
of the notification, the status of the consumer data collected and whether the
data had been destroyed or is routinely destroyed, and more.
The letter was sent to AOL, AT&T, Bresnan
Communications; Bright House Networks, CableOne, Cablevision, Cbeyond,
CenturyTel, Charter, Citizen Communications, Comcast, Covad, Cox, Earthlink,
Google, Insight, Knology, Level 3, Mediacom, Microsoft, PAETEC, Qwest, RCN,
Suddenlink, Time Warner Cable, tw telecom, WideOpenWest, TDS Telecom, United
Online, Windstream Communications, Verizon, XO Communications, and Yahoo!.
“Privacy is a cornerstone of freedom,” Edward J Markey said
in a statement. “Online users have the right to explicitly know when their
broadband provider is tracking their activity and collecting potential
sensitive and personal information,” he added.
Targeted advertising has been a constant reason of concern
for privacy advocates, who fear that tracking consumers’ Internet habits is a
violation of privacy, it’s intrusive and it’s against the law. One question has
been raised many times: are consumers aware of these practices? Furthermore,
Edward J Markey said consumers should be opt-in, rather than be asked to
opt-out of such services.
A recent example is that of NebuAd, whose practices were
questioned last month, after Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT)
President and CEO Leslie Harris called them intrusive: “this new advertising
model appears to defy reasonable consumer expectations and may violate
communications privacy law,” Harris said at the time.
NebuAd was not an isolated case, and the current House
Energy and Commerce Committee investigation is trying to provide answers to the
growing trend of companies who support targeted advertising based on consumers’
Internet search, surfing, or other use. The inquired companies have to submit
their answers to the letters sent by the Committee by Friday.
