Centurytel Tells Users Their Browsing History's For SaleTrial may move into full NebuAD launch starting in July... ( old news - 09:44AM Thursday May 29 2008) tags: business · privacy · CenturyTel of OhioLouisiana-based DSL provider CenturyTel was one of the first ISPs I'd heard was tinkering with NebuAD's behavioral advertising technology. As I explored in discussions with NebuAD's CEO, ISPs track and sell user browsing data to NebuAD, so that NebuAD can provide customers with more tailored ads. Most ISPs have been burying their use of such systems in their privacy policies and fine print. Though I know CenturyTel has been tinkering with NebuAD for much of the past year in a trial capacity, an employee tells me they're now informing customers ahead of a planned launch in July. From an e-mail being sent to CenturyTel customers: CenturyTel continually looks for ways to improve your overall online experience. In that regard, we have enhanced our High-Speed Internet service by working with partners to provide targeted, online advertising for your convenience and benefit. Targeted, online advertising minimizes irrelevant or unwanted ads that clutter your Web pages. If you do not wish to receive targeted, online advertisements, or if you would simply like more information about CenturyTel's use of online advertising, third-party ad servers and the measures you can take to protect your privacy, please review our Privacy Policy by visiting here. As I discussed last week, ISP lawyers apparently think that if they promote the sale of your data as an "enhanced experience," they can skirt privacy laws that require a more comprehensive opt-out system. As I've noted, NebuAD's current opt-out system only keeps you from receiving targeted ads, it doesn't prevent you from having your browsing activity tracked and sold.
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Camelot One
Premium,MVM
join:2001-11-21
Sarasota, FL
clubs:
 ·VoicePulse
| Time for some new software I think if I was subject to my ISP collecting and selling my browsing history, I'd find myself a little program that runs in the background constantly loading porn sites, just to screw up their data.
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Intel Q6600 @3400Mhz/GA-EP35-DS3P/2x 2048Mb G.Skill/Seagate 750.10/EVGA 8800GT's SLI/Silverstone 850W/Custom water cooler | |
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bitchtorn
join:2006-10-11
Peterborough, ON | Re: Time for some new software lol... like you would need a little program to do that! | |
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fcisler
Premium
join:2004-06-14
Riverhead, NY
| Re: Time for some new software I don't have a problem with someone like Google/MSN/Yahoo "tracking" me. It's helping out a resource which I use heavily (in this case, Google).
What I would have a problem with is someone giving me advertisements, tracking me and selling my data - and me seeing nothing in return! Cut my bill! Pro-rate a month! Something!
Google gives me accurate and meaningful results - I'll continue to contribute to that. ISP selling my search results and injecting ads - with nothing in return? The hell with that! | |
| | | | openbox9
join:2004-01-26
Navarre, FL
 ·AT&T Southeast
 ·Mediacom
| Re: Time for some new software said by fcisler  :ISP selling my search results and injecting ads - with nothing in return? The hell with that! How about the ISPs not raising your monthly rates, or raising as much as they would need to if they didn't have these additional revenue generators? Seem like a fairly decent return to me. | |
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fcisler
Premium
join:2004-06-14
Riverhead, NY | Re: Time for some new software It would be....but show me the increased costs which you will be passing on to me, and then show me the percent that the "AdWare" will be reimbursing these costs.
Oh wait...they won't...EVER.... | |
| | | | | | openbox9
join:2004-01-26
Navarre, FL | Re: Time for some new software Nor do they need to. You will see all of the financials that you will ever get (unless your are the CFO, or close to him/her) via the 10Q and 10K for public companies. For private companies, you won't even get that. | |
| | Plldwnyrpnts
join:2003-04-19
Chicago, IL | I was thinking about something along the lines of visiting a competitors website so the targeted ads get you to switch ISPs! LOL!! | |
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S_engineer
join:2007-05-16
Chicago, IL
| Curious Just how do they plan to advertise to you.... I mean who uses there ISPs homepage? or via e-mail?.....
This will easily blocked. The fact that they're low enough to sell your history is another story! 
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"Anything worth having is worth cheating for." WC Fields | |
| | hottboiinnc
ME
join:2003-10-15
Toledo, OH
·buckeye cable
| Re: Curious they advertise to you by putting ads on websites that you visit. They keep track and then contact that company and work out a deal with them and put targeted ads on their site/pages.
You can block the ads but its not going to block them from getting more data from you. The same as with the Opt-out option. You opt-out of the ads but not out of the gathering of the data. | |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
| What Ads? Even if they are selling browsing data to advertisers, it isn't that hard to block most ads on websites these days.
I can't imagine these data being worth all that much in the end.
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This isn't fair! I was only supposed to hate just ONE presidential candidate! | |
| Gres7
join:2001-03-05
Brooklyn, NY | they missed one word: ... for your convenience and OUR benefit. | |
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swhx7
Premium
join:2006-07-23
Elbonia
·RoadRunner Cable
| That's not a disclosure A customer who read that blurb would probably interpret it as referring to only the ISP's website. Or at most, a reader would conclude that the advertisers are going to look for the IP addresses the ISP owns and serve different ads.
Maybe there is more information in the rest of the email? The excerpt doesn't reveal that the user's usage data is being sold, nor that the opt-out refers to only the ads and the user's data is still sold.
If they have to be deceptive to avoid objections from offended customers, what they're doing is sleazy and made possible only by a monopolistic condition. I would certainly switch if I were a CenturyTel customer and had a choice of providers with and without this scam.
THis needs to be addressed by statute or FCC rules. | |
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seagreen
Premium,Mod
join:2001-05-14
Salish Sea
 ·Central Valley Bro..
 ·surpasshosting
Host:
CenturyTel
Wireless Service P..
Southern California
HughesNet Satellite
WildBlue Satellite
edit:
May 29th, @03:20PM
| Re: That's not a disclosure said by swhx7 :Maybe there is more information in the rest of the email? That was the entire email message. There was more on the ISPs privacy policy which was linked to in the message. In that policy they state that advertisements will be served both on the company's own websites and also third party websites.
said by Centurytel "Privacy" Policy :
Online advertising and third-party ad servers
We may use advertising companies to deliver ads for CenturyTel-offered services and products on our Web sites or on third party Web sites. These online ads include, but are not limited to, banner ads. These online ads may contain third-party cookies or Web beacons that allow tracking of visitors' responses to our advertisements, which responses assist us in measuring the effectiveness of our ads. Although these third parties may receive anonymous Web usage information about ad viewing on such Web sites, we prohibit them from using this information in any manner contrary to the terms of this Policy.
CenturyTel partners with a third-party advertising firm to deliver or facilitate delivery of targeted online advertisements to our High Speed Internet subscribers for the purpose of providing these subscribers with a richer, more relevant Web surfing experience. By observing anonymous, non-personally identifying information regarding a subscriber's Web surfing and search behavior, the ad network can infer the subscriber's interests in certain product or service categories (e.g., automobiles/sports or travel/Europe). The third-party advertising firm can then display advertisements that are more likely to be related to a subscriber's interests. It should be noted that you will not receive any more ads than you would otherwise receive, nor will the targeted online ads you receive be any more intrusive than the standard online ads you would otherwise receive. It should also be noted that these targeted online advertisements are based on the subscriber's anonymous online surfing behavior, and no personally identifying information is collected or used to deliver these advertisements. CenturyTel's High-Speed Internet subscribers who choose not to receive targeted online advertisements can opt out at any time by clicking here or visiting »www.nebuad.com/privacy/optout.php. The opt out is accomplished through the placement of an opt out cookie and applies only to the computer and browser through which the opt out selection was made. If, after opting out, you obtain a new computer, use a different browser, or delete the opt out cookie, you must complete the opt out process again in order to maintain your opt out status. If you choose to opt out, you will continue to receive online advertisements; however, these advertisements will likely be less relevant to your interests.
Emphasis is theirs. | |
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chd176
join:2003-01-10
Winfield, AL
·CenturyTel Inc.
| Re: This doesn't surprise me... I opted out right away although it's really stupid and sneaky to make the end user OPT OUT of something like this. I know if they were lowering the price of our DSL packages they sure don't automatically drop the price for everyone you have to call in and get stuck on another one year contract for that.
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10,000/768 CenturyTel PPPoE DSL line (really 5,000/768  ) | |
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drew
Vorbei
Premium
join:2002-07-10
Port Orchard, WA
clubs: | Re: This doesn't surprise me... but your browsing will still be tracked and recorded  | |
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Agent 86
| CenturyTel is ultra-lame CenturyTel is a lame excuse for a phone company. They are still pushing "high speed" 256K DSL. Amazing that they have any customers at all. | |
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atuarre
Here come the drums
Premium
join:2004-02-14
Lake Charles, LA
clubs:  | RE CenturyTel sucks. | |
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jchambers28
join:2007-05-12
Alma, AR | Re: CenturyTel sucks. they are high as hell and I'm sticking with cox for internet until I move into an ATT area | |
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Moon1234
@charter.com
| Invasion of privacy Since many people do not seem to know how this works here is a quick rundown.
1. ISP installs device that looks at every data packet that comes and goes on your internet connection.
2. ISP generates random ID and associates it with your ip, mac address of modem, etc.
3. ISP sells said data along with random id to big multi-national ad firm that places ads on millions of websites. Said firm uses technology to categorize your data to discren what you are doing on the web or elsewhere. Ad firm then uses said placement on millions of webpages to tailor ads towards you instead of the random ones that would normally pop up.
4. If you opt-out you do not see targeted ads. Data collection continues and is still available to third party firm.
5. Third party firm writes ISP big ass check every month. ISP executives salivate over screwing over their customers privacy for more cash.
6. Goverment becomes subscriber to data feed of said national firm and gets random id along with ISP info from ad firm. Government decides who to put on watch list based on browsing habits. Government states said use will only be for anti-terrorism activities. If you are on the list government presents suponea to markting firm with random ID. Marketing firm goes to ISP with random ID and demands customer data. ISP looks in database to find customer data associated with random ID. Innocent person goes to jail or worse for browsing habits of kid across the street who hacked into wireless network.
Ok. so I added number six. How big of a stretch do you think this is? This is ALL automated. No one is sitting there watching you until you starting browsing the WRONG websites or downloading the wrong kind of content. The MPAA, RIAA, etc. of the world have to think they have hit the motherload.
This is a blatent violation of privacy. We NEED STATE LEGISLATION to outlaw this type of activity. (The federal representatives no longer care about you) You need to contact your elected STATE representatives and explain that THEY are being watched as well. | |
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Is NebuAD part of the vast right wing conspiracy
Orwell's bad timing. I think 1984 was to early.
This doesn't surprise me...