Blumenthal Tells Internet Company to Stop Snooping
by Christine Stuart | June 24, 2008 10:09 PM
Posted to Corporate Watch
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal called on Charter Communications, an Internet Service Provider and Cable company, to suspend “its potentially illegal practice of tracking and sharing its customers’ Internet activities with third-party advertisers.”
Charter Communications has called it’s new pilot program an enhancement. But Newtown resident Matt Perrillo, said if he wants to opt out he has to disclose personal information. To add insult to injury, he can only opt out of receiving the advertisements. He said he can’t opt out of the company tracking where he goes on the Internet.
Blumenthal said Charter Communications’ opt-out provision is seriously inadequate to protect consumers because the opt-out cookie can be easily inadvertently deleted by the customer.
Click here to watch video of Blumenthal explaining the issue at a press conference Tuesday or keep reading to see what Charter Communications had to say.
Charter Communications released a statement Tuesday morning saying, “As we do with all new service launches or initiatives, we conducted focus groups well in advance, which told us that most broadband consumers would look upon this service favorably. However, some of our customers have presented questions about this service as well as suggested improvements. As such, we are not moving forward with the pilots at this time. We will continue to take a thoughtful, deliberate approach with the goal to ultimately structure an advertising service that enhances the Internet experience for our customers and addresses questions and concerns they’ve raised.”
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