Verizon ‘No DPI’ plan
p2pnet news view | Advertising:- Should companies be allowed to gather online personal and private data in any shape, manner or form so advertisers can ultimately use them to tightly target users?
In the UK, Deep Packet Inspection Phorm figures that’s fine, and the UK government apparently agrees. Alex Hanff, however, takes the opposite view and is currently assessing whether or not to demand a Judicial Review.
In the US, mounting pressure forced US privacy pirate NebuAd to drop its DPI ad-spy application, “which relentlessly tracks people as they move around the Net,” said p2pnet recently, also noting founder and CEO Bob Dykes was resigning.
But Tom Tauke, Verizon executive vice president of public affairs, policy and communications, believes he has the answer.
“Online companies should commit to a list of industry ‘best practices’ to protect consumers from potential problems associated with targeted Internet advertising – also known as behavioral advertising!”
Everyone should, “embrace policies that put consumers in control of their online experience,” he told the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, yesterday.
And you thought you were already in control. 
Apparently taking it granted that user information should be available anyhow, somehow, the industry should unite behind a number of best practices for behavioral advertising, he stated.
This, he said, should include »»»
(1) transparency — “conspicuous, clearly explained disclosure to consumers”
(2) meaningful consent — affirmative agreement from consumers before a company captures Internet usage data, when consumers surf the Web, for targeted or customized advertising
(3) consumer control — ensuring that consumers can at any time act to stop any company from using their Internet usage information.
“From the perspective of consumers, it makes no difference what technology is used to do behavioral advertising, or if it is done by companies providing their browser, their search engine, their access, or any other online service,” Tauke said.
“All online players should protect the privacy of online users.”
He suggested a, “broad-based coalition of online publishers, search engines, Internet service providers, browser and application providers, and other online providers — along with representatives of consumer and privacy organizations” should be established to, “adopt the industry best practices”.
Technology used to, “track and collect consumer online behavior, when they surf the Web, for the purposes of targeted advertising — regardless of what company is doing the collecting — should only be used with the customer’s knowledge and consent in accordance with the law, a company’s specific privacy policies, and the privacy principles,” Tauke said.
And, “Should a company fail to comply with these principles, we believe the Federal Trade Commission has authority over abuses in the privacy area and can take appropriate measures against companies that intentionally violate applicable consumer protection laws,” he said.
As things stand, the acceptance of targeted, behavioural or any other system designed to collect information on users in any advertising context at all is, as we understand it, still very much open to question.
If Tauke’s idea is adopted, however, would it not firmly establish the concept of “customized advertising” of some kind or other by default, with all that implies?
Verizon, meanwhile, neither, “relies on online advertising as a significant source of revenue nor uses packet inspection technology to target advertising to its customers,” he told the committee.
takes the opposite view – NO deep packet inspection, September 24, 2008
DPI ad-spy application – Nebuad suspends ad-spy technology, September 4, 2008
he told - Verizon Calls for Industry Adoption of ‘Best Practices’ to Protect Consumer Privacy in Online Advertising, September 25, 2008
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September 26th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Man! When will they all just DROP IT!??
The whole idea, from its very inception, has been a red herring.
It’s a total demonstration of pure ingorance.
There is no possible way to intercept personal data without involving yourself in some form of (already) legal activity. Every website in the world would have to be consulted to avoid creating privacy holes and intellectual property leaks. The implications are astronomical and blatantly obvious.
There’s also no possible way to guarantee such interception companies will never try to steal things like banking info, etc. Once you give someone the permission to track everything you do, you open up a hole in your OS that can be exploited for everything you have! (Have we not learned from spam – exploits just got more “innovative”, more stealth, and more harmful, and more criminal with each passing season.) Who’s going to monitor the “monitors” to make sure they’re all operating above board??
Existing laws in both Canada and the US already outlaw this practice.
None of this discussion should even be taking place. It’s like we have to educate our legal systems in order to make the point and get authorities to do something they’re already mandated to do!
October 1st, 2008 at 11:09 pm
CORRECTION!!
There is no possible way to intercept personal data without involving yourself in some form of (already) *illegal* activity.
“Our apologies for any inconvenience this unintended error may caused!”