Snooping On You: The Embarq ISP Spying Scandal
Embarq, an internet service provider offshoot from Sprint, has recently admitted to federal lawmakers that it has eavesdropped on the web surfing habits and interests of 26,000 customers in Kansas without due notification. The web snooping was done to test a new and controversial advertising technology that profiles anonymous users’ online activity.
Embarq said they chose to conduct the test in Gardner, Kansas because it is their smallest facility and market. The secret test happened earlier this year, although no exact date was mentioned. On the second letter addressed to three lawmakers, Rep. John D. Dingell, Rep. Joe Barton, and Rep. Edward J. Markey, Embarq admits to the act and tries to justify it by stating that a notification was given to customers when they included a paragraph on their Privacy Policy labeled “Use of Personal Information.” On the subheading “Preference Advertising,” Embarq informs customers that they may use information such as the “websites [they] visit or online searches that [they] conduct to deliver or facilitate the delivery of targeted advertisements.” They said that the advertisements will be based on anonymous surfing behavior and that they will not be using any information such as user’s name, e-mail address, telephone number, or any personally identifiable information. The same paragraph also provides a one-click link that gives customers an opt-out option from the said test. Fifteen Kansas customers chose to opt out.
Federal lawmakers, although gratified that Embarq answered their specific questions regarding the matter, were not satisfied with the company’s “failure to directly inform their consumers of the consumer data gathering test and the notion that an ‘opt-out’ option is a sufficient standard for such sweeping data gathering,” said Rep. Edward J. Markey, head of the Telecom subcommittee. Embarq, on the other hand, claimed on the same letter that their practices are legal and coincide with the data gathering practices of similar business models.
The three lawmakers have always been skeptical about the legality of the controversial eavesdropping technology. They share the same troubled sentiments with various corporate watchdog groups and law professors, stating that the said technology may violate federal privacy laws which include the wiretapping statute. They were able to force Charter Communications to cancel its proposed trial of ISP eavesdropping technology obtained from NebuAd. NebuAd is the same company used by Embarq for the secret test.
Charter, NebuAd, and Embarq argue that the said technology is legal since they only profile and classify websites and web searches on an anonymous basis from secure information, focusing on collecting data on the interests of the customers. In addition, any information obtained from the profiling and classification is completely destroyed upon serving its purpose, and thus, are not stored permanently on any internet servers. Embarq’s second letter to the lawmakers justified the company’s stance by stating that these are already current and legitimate practices of major web advertisers such as Google Adsense.
Embarq CEO Tom Gerke assures the lawmakers that “no customer data continues to exist, and [they] have no plans for more tests or for general deployment of this technology, until such time as privacy concerns have been addressed.”
NebuAd claims that they always remind their partner companies to duly notify customers and correspondents before using the technology and that the same applies to Embarq.
Do you feel this is a standard business practice or is this an invasion of privacy?
