Markey: Wait on Online-Ad-Service Technology

House Telecommunications & Internet Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D-MA) has told cable operators and other broadband providers to hold off implementing ad-service technology similar to what Charter Communications was planning to use from online-ad network NebuAd. Chairman Markey and other members of his subcommittee wrote Charter last month asking it to hold off on the NebuAd partnership until concerns about online privacy were addressed. He praised Charter Tuesday for deciding to delay plans to "track the Web sites visited by their customers and disclose this sensitive the data to an ad firm." But Rep Markey went beyond that to advise other broadband providers to follow suit. "Given the serious privacy concerns raised by the sophisticated ad-serving technology Charter Communications planned to test-market," he added, "I am pleased to hear that the company has decided to delay implementation of this program, which electronically profiled individual consumer Web usage. I urge other broadband companies considering similar user-profiling programs to similarly hold off on implementation while these important privacy concerns can be addressed.”
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