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.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/06/06/Groups-call-for-investigation-...