Most People Don't Realize Their ISPs Are Already Spying On Them
from the wake-up... dept
We recently wrote about how you should probably be more nervous about the data your ISP is collecting rather than what Google is collecting, because your ISP has access to a lot more data, and the data it has isn't data that you chose to give, as in the case of Google. Plus, ISPs have a long history of selling that data. Now, a new study is showing that most people have no idea that their ISPs track and sell their data, with many believing that an ISP would need to first let them know if they were doing that. In fact, many people are quite concerned about how that data would be used, not realizing that it's already being sold. And, of course, it's not just being sold to ad companies like NebuAd and Phorm, but to website tracking firms like Compete and Hitwise. And, even if that data is sold solely for the purpose of creating trend data, there's no reason that uses can't change over time. For example, the Register is noting that a recent patent lawsuit suggests that trend-tracking research firm Hitwise (which was recently bought by credit giant Experian) may be working on an advertising product as well, that also uses your clickstream data.
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Filed Under: clickstream tracking, isps, legality
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Wow
Its about time somebody tried to explain things to the stupid ones.
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Spying
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Shaken, not Stirred
It is amazing how many business plans are based upon a captive audience and do not consider whether their actions are objectionable because they think there is nothing the consumer can do about it.
Sure, most people do not avoid the constant barrage of ads. They just try to ignore them. I've seen people move the browser off the right of the screen in order to not be bothered by the flash ads.
It is ridiculous what some businesses consider to be good advertising.
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Re: Shaken, not Stirred
So, when they do a press release talking about how 68% of the US uses Google, what they are really saying is 68% of the ISPs users that they buy the data from used Google. And they know what site you went to from there, how long you spent, demographic info, etc.
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Re: Shaken, not Stirred
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A useless jab at Mike, but what the hell.
Okay, in all reality, this isn't big news nor should it be something people should be concerned with. Your life is tracked in every aspect, and this is no different.
Do you have loans? Tracked.
Do you use a debit/credit card? Tracked.
Do you subscribe to magazines? Tracked.
Do you watch TV via cable/satellite? Tracked.
What's important to realize here is that personal information is rarely sold. ISPs, legally, can not sell your data attached to your name.
I'm not at all surprised ISPs sell my visit information. Hell, I've lived with a credit report I have no control over since first establishing credit, so why should this be any different? (note: prescreen reports are equivalent to ISP data - no personal info, but lots of information).
By the way, does Techdirt track referrer information? Does it sell it to those advertisers it supports via the side bar ads?
Ooooh, that's got you thinking now, doesn't it? ;)
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Re: A useless jab at Mike, but what the hell.
It is far too similar to recording telephone conversations and then selling them, without the user's consent.
Sure, it may be anonymized, but it is still private information that users should be required to opt in or at LEAST be able to opt out of.
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Let's worry more about what the GOV does with our info
This info has everything you want to know about a person, and an IT guy with access can find anything. All the data on where you live, how much money you make what kind of car you own. EVERYTHING!!
Mix that with what the ISPs have (OUr click data and where we visit) and you know everything you need to know about a person.
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Well...
I get the Techdirt news feed through my iGoogle homepage, and i find that your articles present an interesting, if not repetitive point of view. But I'm afraid that i have to agree with twinrova here, so what. As someone who regularly pines about alternative business models being squelched by legislation and market competition couldn't one argue that any attempt to stop isp's from tracking and selling data would not only drive up the cost of internet access, but also require legislation that would squelch an alternative business model?
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at least...
The reason being that when you start looking at peoples traffic, you begin to be liable if there are illegal things happening, and you do not report them.
I tend to think that data collection on the ISP front is possibly happening, especially in the mobile markets, but I do not believe that it is as large of a scale as this article leads one to believe.
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privacy policy and clickstream
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not surprising...to some
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sheesh
and the guy who said if you go to the bathroom during the commercial, you are stealing television ....
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Privacy and advertising
At least we know that these companies have privacy policies in place to protect users, and in the case of Phorm, these policies are revolutionary.
http://talkback.zdnet.com/5208-11155-0.html?forumID=1&threadID=52470&messageID=992494&am p;start=-1&ct=null
Data collection is the price we pay for highly targeted and relevant ads. I pay it gladly.
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this is not a secret
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This is a crime
And committing mass copyright theft, stealing the content of web pages 'off the wire' without the knowledge or consent of the author.
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