Groups call for investigation of ISP ad targeting

Fifteen U.S. and Canadian privacy and consumer groups have called for a congressional investigation into a Missouri broadband provider’s plans to deliver targeted advertisements to its subscribers.

Charter Communications, a cable television and Internet provider based in St. Louis, announced in May that it was planning to roll out a targeted ad program that would track users’ Web activity in order to deliver “relevant” ads.

But on Friday the 15 privacy and consumer groups asked members of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee to investigate the Charter plan, saying targeted ads would be a “major privacy threat.” Other Internet service providers are also investigating targeted ad deals, the groups said.

Among the groups signing the letter were the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), the Center for Digital Democracy, the Consumer Federation of America, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and Public Knowledge.

The groups said they were concerned about Charter’s plans to share its users’ Web-surfing habits with a behavioral advertising company, NebuAd.

A Charter spokeswoman didn’t immediately return a phone call requesting comment on the privacy groups’ letter. But the company has defended the targeted ad service, saying it will lead to an enhanced user experience.

Charter’s plan has focused on protecting user privacy, the company said on a Web page explaining the program. “The enhanced service we are bringing to you was created with your privacy in mind and was designed to collect and store only anonymous information that cannot be used by anyone to identify you,” Charter said. “The original data on which your online activity is based — such as historical logs of web pages visited, search queries used, and ads clicked on by an individual — is not stored.”

Representatives Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Joe Barton, a Texas Republican, sent a letter to Charter in mid-May, asking questions about the targeted ad plan.

The privacy groups praised that inquiry, but asked the congressmen to hold hearings and investigate plans by ISPs (Internet service providers) to snoop on user Web surfing. There have been reports that Charter is not the only ISP working with behavioral advertising firms, the groups’ letter said.

“We are concerned that such ISP wiretapping schemes may violate multiple privacy laws and policies,” the letter said. “We urge you to help begin the process of shining a light on these practices with relevant hearings on this issue.”

The privacy groups said they were concerned about a technology called deep packet inspection, which allows ISPs to monitor all information coming out of a user’s computer before it hits the Internet. This information could then be turned over to a third-party advertising vendor, which then could deliver ads based on the users’ Web habits.

“Congress needs to bring this practice under closer scrutiny,” Ari Schwartz, CDT’s vice president, said in a statement. “Tragically, there is little oversight or accountability of these activities and Congress needs to weigh in now before the practice becomes standard operating procedure for the ISPs.”