UPDATED 23:38 EDT / APRIL 02 2017

INFRA

Internet service providers insist they’re not going to sell your web browsing history

Three of America’s biggest Internet service providers have sought to reassure consumers that they have no plans to sell their Internet browsing data, following last week’s Congressional vote that allows them to do just that without obtaining customer consent first.

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 215-205 to repeal privacy rules proposed by the Federal Communications Commission that prevent ISPs from selling their customer’s web browsing histories without their consent. Those rules were adopted last year, but had not gone into effect.

But there’s absolutely no need to worry, according to ISPs that issued statements on Friday in an attempt to allay consumers’ fears.

“We have committed not to share our customers’ sensitive information (such as banking, children’s, and health information), unless we first obtain their affirmative, opt-in consent,” Comcast Corp. Senior Vice President Gerard Lewis wrote in a post on the company’s corporate policy blog.

He added that Comcast’s privacy policy goes “even beyond this protection of sensitive information that has dominated the dialogue this week. If a customer does not want us to use other, non-sensitive data to send them targeted ads, we offer them the ability to opt out of receiving such targeted ads.”

Being able to opt out is certainly helpful, but of course Comcast fails to state the obvious: Its customers are automatically opted in to begin with. It’s also worth pointing out that Comcast makes it perfectly clear on its Advertising Information page that it “may sell graphical display, text, and other ads, and deliver promotional offers” and that these ads “may be based on information that you have provided to Comcast or its affiliates.”

Other ISPs including Verizon Communications, Inc. and AT&T Inc. similarly sought to reassure customers that the companies could be trusted not to sell their browsing histories without permission. “Verizon does not sell the personal web browsing history of our customers,” said Verizon chief privacy officer Karen Zacharia in a statement. “We don’t do it and that’s the bottom line.”

Zacharia also said that Verizon offers its customers a choice to participate in its ad programs that rely on web browsing data. Unlike Comcast, Verizon’s customers have to opt in to the programs, instead of opting out. Those programs include the company’s “Verizon Selects” program that uses “de-identified information” to target certain groups of consumers, and a second offering that provides “aggregate insights” on customers.

Meanwhile, AT&T Senior Executive Vice President Bob Quinn said his company’s approach is to “focus on the nature of the data and have a consistent framework on collection.” He added that “AT&T’s privacy protections are the same today as they were five months ago when the FCC rules were adopted,” and offered a link to the company’s privacy policy page that clearly states: “We will not sell your personal information to anyone, for any purpose. Period.”

Despite the ISPs’ assurances that they won’t sell consumer’s browsing histories, it’s probably not a good idea to take their word for it. After all, AT&T, Comcast and Verizon all supported last week’s vote to abolish the FCC’s rules. The truth is they want to use that data somehow, and will likely find a way to do so, whether it’s anonymized, aggregated or leveraged in some other way without actually being “sold.”

The congressional repeal also means that ISPs now have the option to collect and sell data such as a customer’s location, health or financial status, at any time, if they choose to do so.

The bill to repeal the FCC rules on ISP privacy still needs to be endorsed by President Donald Trump before going into effect.

Image: Unsplash/pixabay

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