Putting a Price on Privacy: $29

[Commentary] Want a slice of privacy with your high speed Internet service? That will be $30 a month. That’s the pitch AT&T is making to customers in Kansas City (MO) and Austin (TX) where it sells an ultra-fast Internet service that it calls GigaPower. Customers can buy the service for a starting price of $70 a month if they agree to have AT&T track their Internet browsing under a program called Internet Preferences. Customers who refuse tracking have to pay $29 a month more.

Phone and cable companies have generally not engaged in closely tracking customers' activities, but AT&T's move suggests that more network operators might go in this direction. The Federal Communications Commission should pay close attention to programs such as these to see if they violate its privacy rules. The FCC is expected to vote on Feb. 26 on a proposal that would treat broadband as a telecommunications service, which will give it more authority over services like GigaPower.