Charter Pulls Internet

Use-Tracking Program

By John Voket

A little more than a month after The Newtown Bee contacted state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal about a planned cable Internet project that would target advertising to subscribers based on their online site visits, Charter Communications has pulled the project in all four of its national pilot locations, including Newtown.

After examining documentation about the program, the state official immediately responded in an exclusive interview criticizing the communications conglomerate, which provides both local cable television and Internet service. Charter Communications additionally franchises in nearly 40 towns in Connecticut, and has millions of subscribers nationwide.

Tuesday, the AG released a letter he wrote demanding the company cease plans to launch the potentially illegal practice of tracking and sharing its customers’ Internet activities with third-party advertisers in Newtown.

Mr Blumenthal said the practice, apparently targeting certain consumers in Connecticut and other areas of the country as part of a pilot program, may have serious legal and privacy implications. Federal law bars cable companies from sharing subscriber information, the attorney general said.

“The arrangement raises strikingly significant questions, such as what other uses will be made of this highly sensitive information and what measures Charter Communications is taking to safeguard such information,” Mr Blumenthal said. “I am very troubled about the legal and privacy implications, especially in light of longstanding federal law restricting cable company sharing of subscriber information.”

Other critics of the project, including federal officials, suggested the Newtown program — one of four in the United States — would essentially be “spying” on the web-surfing activities of its customers with the apparent intent of selling that data to an online advertising firm called NebuAd for use in targeted advertising.

The tracking was set to begin in June in Fort Worth, Texas; San Luis Obispo, Calif.; Oxford, Mass.; and Newtown. When apprised of the issue by The Bee on May 20, Mr Blumenthal vowed to contact Charter officials, “and challenge them to justify this potentially illegal practice.”

A letter circulated to Newtown Charter Internet subscribers in May described the program as “an enhancement” to customers’ web browsing experiences that is more customized to their interests and activities.

“As a result, the advertising you typically see online will better reflect the interests you express through your web-surfing activity,” the letter continues. “You will not see more ads — just ads that are more relevant to you.” The letter states that the “service” was designed to ensure that customers’ privacy will continue to be protected.

But Mr Blumenthal said he was immediately suspect, a concern he reiterated at a press conference on the matter this week.

“While the Internet provides important consumer benefits, its power places significant and serious responsibility on cable companies to protect privacy,” he said. “Charter is abdicating, even abrogating, this responsibility.”

Mr 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.

Within an hour of the press conference, Charter Communications announced it was discontinuing plans to run the test program, citing concerns being expressed by customers.

Charter previously said it was delaying its mid-June launch for technical reasons. This week’s announcement marks the first time the company has admitted that the NebuAd deal raises concerns.

“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,” Charter said in a statement Tuesday. “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.”

Charter gave no indication of when it might go ahead with the program.

According to a report in OnLine Media Daily, Digital rights groups and net neutrality advocates condemned the plan, which they viewed as more invasive than other types of online ad targeting, or serving ads to people based on their web-surfing history. Older behavioral targeting companies only know when users visit specified sites that are part of the same network, which means they can collect only a limited amount of information.

But Internet service providers have access to users’ entire clickstream data, including every site visited and every search query entered. With that much information, it is possible to compile detailed user profiles, and in some cases, identify people even without knowing their names.

And, while users can opt-out of these ad platforms, advocates question whether an opt-out mechanism will adequately protect subscribers.

NebuAd has said privacy advocates have no cause for concern because its data-gathering practices are anonymous, in that the company does not collect names or addresses.

“NebuAd remains committed to delivering strong value to advertisers, publishers, and ISPs while setting the gold standard for privacy in online advertising,” the company said in a statement. NebuAd added that it has met with members of Congress, and intends to continue talks with the government, trade groups, and privacy groups.

Prior to the decision by Charter to discontinue the program, both the Legislative Council and the Board of Selectmen expressed plans to weigh in on the matter because of constituent concerns, and because several town departments including the school district utilizes the company’s Internet service.

During a June 18 meeting, Councilman Christopher Lyddy, who is also seeking the 106th District legislative seat, asked that the Legislative Council look at ways to send their disapproval to Charter. He asked if it would be appropriate for a Charter representative come to the Legislative Council and explain this program.

Mr Lyddy was subsequently appointed to reach out to Mr Blumenthal to confirm the attorney general’s position on the matter, and to contact other communities affected by the proposed Charter initiative.

As a result, Mr Lyddy was invited to participate in Mr Blumenthal’s press conference Tuesday. At that press conference, Mr Lyddy called on Charter to attend an upcoming Newtown Legislative Council meeting to answer growing concerns from Charter subscribers.