On This Day
British Telecom Admits Spying on Customers’ Internet Use
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Britain’s largest telecommunications provider says it monitored customers’ Internet activity without permission, in what may be a violation of data privacy laws.
30-Second Summary
After customers discovered evidence of the data-tracking, British Telecom admitted spying without users’ notice or permission, but said it did so only during a “small-scale trial” of new software that tracks Internet activity to send people relevant advertising.
Angry customer Stephen Mainwaring said that after noticing “strange things” on his computer he contacted BT, which said it was a virus. He ran virus scans, and even bought a new PC.
“It turns out they were doing secret tests,” he said.
BT insists the company received legal advice and was not breaking the law, but “there's a good argument that [BT’s internet monitoring] is a breach of the Data Protection Act,” technology lawyer Mike Conradi told UK Channel 4.
BT spokesperson Emma Sanderson said only “a fraction of a percent” of customers were affected. Future trials are planned, but using volunteers only.
BT’s privacy policy tells customers it may collect and share “your personal information,” but “will only do this if you have agreed.”
American Internet giants such as Google commonly use targeted advertising based on Web visitors’ search engine use, but BT’s case is different because it used customers’ Internet Service Providers (ISP) to track every site visited, without telling users.
Privacy experts say even policies requiring customers to agree to such data-tracking may not adequately protect Internet users.
“By having such complete personal data, marketers can target individuals when they are most vulnerable, pushing everything from sub-prime loans to new drugs,” writes the San-Jose Mercury News.
Angry customer Stephen Mainwaring said that after noticing “strange things” on his computer he contacted BT, which said it was a virus. He ran virus scans, and even bought a new PC.
“It turns out they were doing secret tests,” he said.
BT insists the company received legal advice and was not breaking the law, but “there's a good argument that [BT’s internet monitoring] is a breach of the Data Protection Act,” technology lawyer Mike Conradi told UK Channel 4.
BT spokesperson Emma Sanderson said only “a fraction of a percent” of customers were affected. Future trials are planned, but using volunteers only.
BT’s privacy policy tells customers it may collect and share “your personal information,” but “will only do this if you have agreed.”
American Internet giants such as Google commonly use targeted advertising based on Web visitors’ search engine use, but BT’s case is different because it used customers’ Internet Service Providers (ISP) to track every site visited, without telling users.
Privacy experts say even policies requiring customers to agree to such data-tracking may not adequately protect Internet users.
“By having such complete personal data, marketers can target individuals when they are most vulnerable, pushing everything from sub-prime loans to new drugs,” writes the San-Jose Mercury News.
Headline Links: BT caught in Internet snooping case
In a televised interview on UK Channel 4, Sanderson admitted data monitoring was done without notice to users. Asked if BT is going to offer Mainwaring an apology or compensate him, she did not specifically answer either question, but said that “we have tried to make contact with Mr. Mainwaring” and that she “doesn’t really think, generally, that we will need to offer customers compensation.” She said that BT will be conducting another trial of the software, made by another copany called Phorm, this month and will ask for volunteers to participate. A clip of the interview is available on the site.
Source: Channel 4
BT will begin public trials this month of the software, which “has been criticized by privacy campaigners, including the Foundation for Information Policy Research (FIPR) think tank, which said it believes Phorm's technology breaks the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act.” Phorm has dismissed the claims, saying their technology is designed to protect privacy, not the opposite. BT is looking for 10,000 customers to volunteer for the trial.
Source: Computer Weekly
Related Topics: Online spying and targeted advertising
Methods used in targeted advertising bothered New York assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky so much, that he has drafted a bill that would make it a crime for certain Web companies to use customers’ personal information for advertising without their consent. “If it passed, computer users could request that companies like Google, Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft, which routinely keep track of searches and surfing conducted on their own properties, not follow them around,” reports the New York Times.
Source: The New York Times
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sponsored a town hall meeting on targeted advertising in Washington D.C. in November, 2007, following complaints from a number of privacy groups. The Center for Digital Democracy and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group had filed a complaint with the FTC against Microsoft and other Web-based advertising companies for "unfair and deceptive" practices to collect information about their customers.
Source: PC World
Michael Agger discussed the voyeuristic qualities of Google Street View, a program that offers 360-degree street shots of many U.S. addresses, which was launched in June, 2007. “Kalin-Casey expressed her privacy concerns to the site BoingBoing, and she was joined by a gaggle of commenters who felt that Google had crossed a line by photographing people's homes, cars, and garbage cans. The race was on to find the most alarming and actionable image,” he writes.
Source: Slate
The number of computers tracked by Internet service providers is growing in the United States. "The practice represents a significant expansion in the ability to track a household's Web use because it taps into Internet connections, and critics liken it to a phone company listening in on conversations. But the companies involved say customers' privacy is protected because no personally identifying details are released," reports The Washington Post.
Source: The Washington Post
Opinion & Analysis: Privacy laws may not work against ‘virtual voyeurism’
Douglas Schweitzer writes for Computerworld he doubts whether proposed targeted advertising laws are enough to protect privacy. “I agree with Brodsky that it would be nice if consumers could opt out of advertising generated via personal data gathered during their online browsing and worse yet, during their online shopping. But on the other hand, how many users would go the extra step and actually grant specific permission to companies to link their searches and surfing data to their name, address and other personal data?” he writes on The Security Sector blog.
Source: Computerworld
The San Jose Mercury News reports that it’s not just cyber criminals, hackers and the U.S. government that are getting access to personal information, it’s legitimate Web sites, too. “Privacy advocates find this virtual voyeurism disturbing, if not downright threatening. By having such complete and personal data on individuals, marketers can target them when they are most vulnerable, pushing everything from subprime loans to new drugs to particular political candidates,” according to the story.
Source: The San Jose Mercury News
Reference: U.S. and U.K. internet privacy laws, British Telecom
The UK’s Office of Public Sector Information provides the entire Data Protection Act of 1998 on its Web site.
Source: Office of Public Sector Information
The FTC says it “pursues vigorous and effective law enforcement; advances consumers’ interests by sharing its expertise with federal and state legislatures and U.S. and international government agencies; develops policy and research tools through hearings, workshops, and conferences; and creates practical and plain-language educational programs for consumers and businesses in a global marketplace with constantly changing technologies,” according to its Web site.
Source: FTC
FindingDulcinea has a Web guide on Internet privacy that includes information about how Web sites such as social networking sites and search engines use personal information to deliver targeted advertising.
Source: findingDulcinea
The U.S. Conference of State Legislatures Web site lists state laws that protect consumers from spyware, nuisance advertising software, and other internet privacy breaches. Spyware is software that secretly invades computers to track online activities or personal information of Web users, change settings on user’s computers, or cause pop-up advertising messages. The site also includes a national survey of internet privacy enforcement cases.
Source: National Conference of State legislatures
BT is the major telecommunications and broadband Internet provider in the United Kingdom, and provides service in more than 70 countries. Now privatised and doing business as BT Group, it was formerly the UK state telecommunications operator. The company’s Privacy Policy states, “We may share your personal information with other companies so that they can contact you with details of other products or services you may be interested in. We will only do this if you have agreed to this and where the companies agree to use your personal information for that purpose only.”
Source: BT
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