Behavioral advertising companies like NebuAD place deep packet inspection hardware on the ISP network, which monitors which sites you visit and for how long. ISPs then get paid for this data, which is then used to deliver customized ads to subscribers. I've discussed how there's a growing number of ISPs who've started using this technology, but don't properly inform users they're doing so. The opt-out process also has problems, relying on cookies that only opt you out of ad delivery, not online usage tracking.

Joining the growing family of ISPs who are using this technology (WOW, Embarq, CenturyTel) is Charter, who this week e-mailed their subscribers to inform them their browsing habits were now a revenue stream. While it's nice that Charter actually e-mailed their customers instead of burying the change in their terms of service like most ISPs, the e-mail still tries to push Charter's money grab as an "enhanced online experience."Of course Charter's FAQ on the service fails to inform customers that the cookie doesn't stop them from tracking you, just from sending you personalized ads. Interestingly, Charter's opt out form doesn't bother to tell customers the name of the company (I assume it's NebuAD, whose CEO I interviewed last February). One of our forum users wrote a succinct letter to Charter explaining his anger:Charter sells your browsing information for profit, while you get no reduction in service price and are forced to use an opt-out process that doesn't entirely work. Sound like an enhanced online experience to you?