Snoopvertising" forces customers to either sacrifice their privacy or pay
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas In August there was quite a stir when U.S. Telcommunications provider Comcast asserted that they should be able to charge customers more for protecting their own privacy endorsing a business model in which privacy is a luxury" and comes at an additional cost to the consumer. AT&T had been enacting a similar model charging their Gigapower Internet customers an extra fee (typically $30 USD) to opt-out of online tracking. To achieve the lowest price for service users were required to allow AT&T to monitor and collect their internet behavior patterns personal preferences and data consumption for use in determining ad targeting. This practice often referred to as snoopvertising" forced customers to sacrifice their privacy if they wished to pay the lowest rate. AT&T announced last week that they will be ending this business model and will offer their lowest price to all customers. Additionally they report that data collection and targeted ads will also be shut off." Open Internet and consumer advocates have long argued that all U.S. consumers should have equal access to online privacy regardless of the price paid for service. They have also advocated that customers deserve transparency into when data
collection is occurring how it is occurring and the ways in which their personal information is being used.
You can learn more about these practices in the Golden Frog article entitled: You Are the Product: The Price of Free in the Growing Privacy Industry."
Sources: Ars Technica and Fortune.
