That's not a disclosure in http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r20557085 en Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:46:27 EDT Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:46:27 EDT Re: That's not a disclosure http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20557136 seagreen :
said by swhx7 See Profile :

Maybe there is more information in the rest of the email?
That was the entire email message. There was more on the ISPs privacy policy which was linked to in the message. In that policy they state that advertisements will be served both on the company's own websites and also third party websites.

said by Centurytel "Privacy" Policy :
Online advertising and third-party ad servers
We may use advertising companies to deliver ads for CenturyTel-offered services and products on our Web sites or on third party Web sites. These online ads include, but are not limited to, banner ads. These online ads may contain third-party cookies or Web beacons that allow tracking of visitors' responses to our advertisements, which responses assist us in measuring the effectiveness of our ads. Although these third parties may receive anonymous Web usage information about ad viewing on such Web sites, we prohibit them from using this information in any manner contrary to the terms of this Policy.

CenturyTel partners with a third-party advertising firm to deliver or facilitate delivery of targeted online advertisements to our High Speed Internet subscribers for the purpose of providing these subscribers with a richer, more relevant Web surfing experience. By observing anonymous, non-personally identifying information regarding a subscriber's Web surfing and search behavior, the ad network can infer the subscriber's interests in certain product or service categories (e.g., automobiles/sports or travel/Europe). The third-party advertising firm can then display advertisements that are more likely to be related to a subscriber's interests. It should be noted that you will not receive any more ads than you would otherwise receive, nor will the targeted online ads you receive be any more intrusive than the standard online ads you would otherwise receive. It should also be noted that these targeted online advertisements are based on the subscriber's anonymous online surfing behavior, and no personally identifying information is collected or used to deliver these advertisements. CenturyTel's High-Speed Internet subscribers who choose not to receive targeted online advertisements can opt out at any time by clicking here or visiting »www.nebuad.com/privacy/optout.php. The opt out is accomplished through the placement of an opt out cookie and applies only to the computer and browser through which the opt out selection was made. If, after opting out, you obtain a new computer, use a different browser, or delete the opt out cookie, you must complete the opt out process again in order to maintain your opt out status. If you choose to opt out, you will continue to receive online advertisements; however, these advertisements will likely be less relevant to your interests.


Emphasis is theirs.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20557136 Thu, 29 May 2008 10:57:26 EDT That's not a disclosure http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20557085 swhx7 : A customer who read that blurb would probably interpret it as referring to only the ISP's website. Or at most, a reader would conclude that the advertisers are going to look for the IP addresses the ISP owns and serve different ads.

Maybe there is more information in the rest of the email? The excerpt doesn't reveal that the user's usage data is being sold, nor that the opt-out refers to only the ads and the user's data is still sold.

If they have to be deceptive to avoid objections from offended customers, what they're doing is sleazy and made possible only by a monopolistic condition. I would certainly switch if I were a CenturyTel customer and had a choice of providers with and without this scam.

THis needs to be addressed by statute or FCC rules.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20557085 Thu, 29 May 2008 10:47:41 EDT