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21 Votes
17 Comments
Look Out! They Will Be Watching What You Do On The Web
News Type: Opinion — Seeded on Thu May 15, 2008 6:45 PM EDT
Article Source: The New York Timesadvertisement
Charter Communications, the fourth-largest cable system in the United States, has started telling its high-speed Internet customers that it is going to keep track of every site they visit on the Web.
The cable company will sell the data to a firm called NebuAd, which in turn will use it to show ads to Web-surfing Charter customers that are meant to be related to their interests. (Visit a knitting site yesterday and see yarn ads today.)
Charter started sending letters out to several hundred thousand customers in four markets: Fort Worth, Tex.; San Luis Obispo, Calif.; Oxford, Mass.; and Newtown, Conn. (The letters were first reported by DSLreports.com.)
Charter said it will start testing the system within 30 days and will make a decision whether to introduce it to its 2.8 million Internet customers a few months after that.
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- Regions: New York
 | Lawmakers concerned over Charter's Web tracking | Associated Press | Fri May 16 | 0 |
 | Charter cable to track customer internet browsing | madison.com | Thu May 15 | 0 |
- Public Discussion (17)
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8.6
5.9
{"commentId":1805207,"authorDomain":"jazzman646"}
A class action lawsuit may be the best response to this.
{"commentId":1805207,"threadId":"265088","contentId":"1491420","authorDomain":"jazzman646"}
- 7 votes
#1 - Thu May 15, 2008 7:16 PM EDT{"commentId":1805501,"authorDomain":"ScarlerTermite"}
Oh no! More male enhancement ads!
Juuust kidding!
{"commentId":1805501,"threadId":"265088","contentId":"1491420","authorDomain":"ScarlerTermite"}
- 5 votes
#2 - Thu May 15, 2008 8:13 PM EDT{"commentId":1805510,"authorDomain":"SirThinkswaytomuch"}
I am at least glad that they had the decency to include a way to opt out. But yes, a class action lawsuit would work too.
{"commentId":1805510,"threadId":"265088","contentId":"1491420","authorDomain":"SirThinkswaytomuch"}
- 6 votes
#3 - Thu May 15, 2008 8:15 PM EDT{"commentId":1805529,"authorDomain":"knh"}
Do I hear the word backlash?
{"commentId":1805529,"threadId":"265088","contentId":"1491420","authorDomain":"knh"}
- 3 votes
#4 - Thu May 15, 2008 8:19 PM EDT{"commentId":1805576,"authorDomain":"comsen"}
This goes against all of the comments here on Newsvine that the US Government is out to spy on us all. Could it be that businesses are the ones wanting to spy on us?
{"commentId":1805576,"threadId":"265088","contentId":"1491420","authorDomain":"comsen"}
- 5 votes
#5 - Thu May 15, 2008 8:35 PM EDT{"commentId":1805626,"authorDomain":"SirThinkswaytomuch"}
Gov't=Business in the US
{"commentId":1805626,"threadId":"265088","contentId":"1491420","authorDomain":"SirThinkswaytomuch"}
- 4 votes
{"commentId":1805954,"authorDomain":"kimmy123"}
We are doing everything we can to make you happy.
We will send you advertisement that you don't want.
We will do everything to make you happy and tell the Federal Government about you.
Net-neutral is falling by the wayside.
Bush is becoming a dictator. Do you not think that the next president will become one too?
Once you have the control. Will you give it up?
{"commentId":1805954,"threadId":"265088","contentId":"1491420","authorDomain":"kimmy123"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":1805744,"authorDomain":"eriktheread"}
Banner differentiation is already going on. You guys over there in America don't see what i am seeing. I see fabulous ads enticing me to get up and move to you! I am so flattered! Thank you for making this kind offer!!! My bags are packed I'm ready to go... Mostly these Green Card ads are in English, but they also appear in Arabic.
Right now there s no Green Card advertising and I'm seeing something about ChildSafe Advocates. That sponsor is wasting his money on me. But when I come to America with my Green Card, maybe I too will join the ChildSafe Advocates. Very compelling, very pretty family in that ad.
{"commentId":1805744,"threadId":"265088","contentId":"1491420","authorDomain":"eriktheread"}
- 3 votes
#6 - Thu May 15, 2008 9:14 PM EDT{"commentId":1806012,"authorDomain":"Rixar13"}
Class action Law suit, please count me in.
{"commentId":1806012,"threadId":"265088","contentId":"1491420","authorDomain":"Rixar13"}
- 3 votes
#7 - Thu May 15, 2008 10:14 PM EDT{"commentId":1806084,"authorDomain":"smoddelm"}
I would be in favor of putting a webcam in Charter VP Ted Schremp's bedroom and selling the video to male enlargement websites. That would enhance his bedroom experience. And then cancelling Charter internet service (if I had it).
{"commentId":1806084,"threadId":"265088","contentId":"1491420","authorDomain":"smoddelm"}
- 2 votes
#8 - Thu May 15, 2008 10:32 PM EDT{"commentId":1806113,"authorDomain":"PrimarySources"}
Heh. I almost sent Charter an email expressing strong disapproval of this tactic, along with a link to this site to demonstrate that my distate is shared by others....and then I thought:
Am I freaking crazy?
Heh. Glad I realized what a bad idea it was before posting...
{"commentId":1806113,"threadId":"265088","contentId":"1491420","authorDomain":"PrimarySources"}
#9 - Thu May 15, 2008 10:40 PM EDT{"commentId":1806530,"authorDomain":"swornfuk"}
Everywhere you go on the internet is recorded already, just ask convicted hackers. I don't like the idea that someone is watching me online, but it's a reality. I'm willing to bet that Charter has been tracking what sites their customers go to already, and the only difference is that now the information is for sale.
{"commentId":1806530,"threadId":"265088","contentId":"1491420","authorDomain":"swornfuk"}
- 1 vote
#10 - Fri May 16, 2008 1:51 AM EDT{"commentId":1806613,"authorDomain":"swornfuk"}
Look up AT&T on wikipedia
In January 2008, the company reported plans to begin filtering all Internet traffic which passes through its network for intellectual property violations.[27]
Commentators in the media have speculated that if this plan is implemented, it would lead to a mass exodus of subscribers leaving AT&T,[28] although this is misleading as internet traffic may go through the company's network anyway.[27]
If they can do that, what can they do that we don't know about yet?
{"commentId":1806613,"threadId":"265088","contentId":"1491420","authorDomain":"swornfuk"}
- 1 vote
#11 - Fri May 16, 2008 2:52 AM EDT{"commentId":1807075,"authorDomain":"eriktheread"}
If they can do that, what can they do that we don't know about yet?
Well, there is a web camera ond a microphone built into this laptop... can't tell if they're turned on or not...
When I consider these matters, my consolation is that there is just too much information for anyone to handle - after all, there has to be humans involved in the interpretation of the data somewhere along the way. I think.
{"commentId":1807075,"threadId":"265088","contentId":"1491420","authorDomain":"eriktheread"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":1807183,"authorDomain":"katrixx"}
Well, there is a web camera ond a microphone built into this laptop... can't tell if they're turned on or not...
And hackers have ways to turn them on, so watch out!
{"commentId":1807183,"threadId":"265088","contentId":"1491420","authorDomain":"katrixx"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":1807189,"authorDomain":"wmolaw"}
Erik:
In some areas, this is probably not true. As to preferences, sites visited, they are just noted electronically, and sold, or given to the government, or whatever.
{"commentId":1807189,"threadId":"265088","contentId":"1491420","authorDomain":"wmolaw"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1806926,"authorDomain":"wmolaw"}
This is really disturbing. As someone said, net neutrality is gone.
It's funny to me that there was such a hoopla previously when the government asked for phone records, and other mined electronic data from these companies for use to combat terrorism.
Seems that the companies themselves have been mining this for some time, and turning the information over to the government if it found what it thought might be violatios.
Pretty unbelievable. Guess the net is pretty much done now. I wonder when the next communication system will come around, one that will and can guaranty some form of privacy.
{"commentId":1806926,"threadId":"265088","contentId":"1491420","authorDomain":"wmolaw"}
- 1 vote
#12 - Fri May 16, 2008 7:48 AM EDT{"canLink":false,"threadId":"265088","isPrivate":false}
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