--- begin forwarded text Delivered-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2000 07:18:54 -0400 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: David Farber <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: IP: VERY IMPORTANT ISSUE -- Massive Tracking of Web Users Planned -- Via ISPs! Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <x-flowed>> >PRIVACY Forum Digest Thursday, 20 April 2000 Volume 09 : Issue 13 > > (http://www.vortex.com/privacy/priv.09.13) > > Moderated by Lauren Weinstein ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) > Vortex Technology, Woodland Hills, CA, U.S.A. > http://www.vortex.com > > ===== PRIVACY FORUM ===== ><snip> > > >Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2000 18:04:08 -0700 (PDT) >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Lauren Weinstein; PRIVACY Forum Moderator) >Subject: Massive Tracking of Web Users Planned -- Via ISPs! > >Greetings. > >This is not a delayed April Fools' Day joke. It's all too real, >and I assume that you're already sitting down. > >Picture a world where information about your every move on the Web, >including the sites that you visit, the keywords that you enter into search >engines, and so on, are all shipped off to a third party, with the willing >cooperation of your Internet Service Provider (ISP). None of those pesky >cookies to disable, no outside Web sites to put on block lists--just a direct >flow of data from your ISP to the unseen folks with the dollar signs (or >pound, yen, euro, or whatever signs) gleaming brightly in their eyes behind >the scenes. You'll of course be told that your information is "anonymous" >and that you can trust everyone involved, that you'll derive immense benefits >from such tracking, and that you have an (at least theoretical) opt-in or >opt-out choice. > >But just for some frosting on the cake, also picture that if you avail >yourself of the opportunity not to participate in such tracking (via opt-out >or opt-in choices), that you either cannot use the associated ISPs at all, or >will be faced with paying significantly higher fees than persons who are >willing to play along with tracking. > >As you have no doubt guessed by now, this is not a theoretical scenario. >We're on the verge of starting down the slippery slope to this end right >now, with the imminent operations of Predictive Networks >(http://www.predictivenetworks.com) and other similar businesses also in the >works. > >When I recently learned about Predictive (which has apparently been >established for some time and seems to be well funded), I naturally visited >their Web site, which was sadly lacking in obvious specifics such as an >actual posted privacy policy. (I've since been told that this is a temporary >condition which will shortly be remedied.) I spoke briefly with the firm's >president and had a much more detailed chat with his V.P. for Business >Development, and received an e-mailed copy of their privacy privacy. Both >of these fellows were polite, cordial, and willing to provide me with the >information I desired about their plans. > >Unfortunately, the more that I learned from these sources, the >increasingly concerned I became. > >In brief, Predictive's business is to engage ISPs (not just "free" ISPs >where usage tracking has become typical, but conventional fee-based ISPs as >well) in arrangements where the ISP will directly feed Web usage data to >Predictive. The firm also claims to be working with Internet backbone >providers. To quote from Predictive's privacy policy: > > "Predictive Networks uses Digital Silhouettes to match Internet content > and advertising with appropriate subscriber recipients. As a result, > subscribers receive information that appeals to their current needs and > interests. To develop a Digital Silhouette, The Predictive Network > analyzes URL click-stream data, such as web pages visited, and date and > time of visit. URLs are then evaluated against more than 120 affinity > and demographic categories, and assigned a score between zero and one. > The resulting Digital Silhouette is simply an anonymous set of numerical > probabilities inferred from subscriber behavior. URL histories are not > permanently stored and the data in the Digital Silhouette is not > personally identifiable." > >and: > > "To provide subscribers with content most relevant to their current > interests, The Predictive Network may retain key words from Internet > searches. These key words are attached to the subscriber's anonymous > Digital Silhouette and, like the Digital Silhouette itself, are not > personally identifiable. The Predictive Network also gathers data about > a subscribers' response to messages and content, which is used to > fine-tune future messages and message format." > >It is Predictive's contention that they do not maintain an ongoing history >of sites visited (URLs), and that the Digital Silhouettes are maintained in >an "anonymous" fashion--so they feel that there is no violation of users' >privacy. > >But outside of the fact that keyword search terms *themselves* can often >contain personally-identifiable or other sensitive data, also note from the >Predictive privacy policy that: > > "To optimize the format of the content delivered to subscribers, the > anonymous Digital Silhouette may include specifications about the > subscriber's computer, such as processor type, browser plug-ins and > available memory. For some of our ISP partners, Predictive Networks > may provide a built-in dialer system. Should an ISP select this > option, The Predictive Network may require subscribers to furnish their > ISP user name and password. This information will be used strictly for > account authentication purposes and will not be associated with the > subscriber's anonymous Digital Silhouette. Our ISP partners can also > the leverage the power of The Predictive Network for customer service > purposes. Should a subscriber's ISP select this option, the ISP user > name may be matched with the Digital Silhouette ID number. This will > allow The Predictive Network to send specific individuals important > customer service information. In addition, some subscribers may elect > to have email service from their ISP. Subscribers on The Predictive > Network that choose this option may be required to supply Predictive > Networks with their email address. This information is used for email > notification only." > >In other words, there is a variety of personally-identifiable information >that you may need to provide to Predictive at various times, and you are >expected to trust Predictive not to purposely or accidentally misuse this >data. You also must trust that Predictive will not associate this >information with your "Digital Silhouette" in any manner--nor let anyone >else make such an association. One wonders what would happen in the face of >a court order to provide associated data for a civil or criminal proceeding >or investigation. > >Most of the familiar problems we've seen in the past with so-called >"anonymous" tracking systems are present in this case. Privacy policies can >be changed at any time (e.g., the recent DoubleClick fiasco). Detailed data >that is theoretically discarded in the process of building "anonymous" >profiles could be preserved at any time, simply through software >alterations. The very *existence* of these sorts of data collection and >tracking infrastructures is of great concern. Even with the best of >intentions, the possibility for abuse is impossible to ignore--and as we >know there is a vacuum of laws to provide consumers with useful protections >in these areas. > >Predictive claims that all of this effort is to bring better services to >Web users. Their apparent view is that tracking people's usage to figure >out what sorts of ads to send them is far better than simply *asking* people >to select the sorts of materials that they might wish to receive. > >Of course, whenever you use automated techniques to try figure out what >people want based on the Web sites they happen to visit, there is the >possibility of embarrassing errors. For example, people may be suckered into >pornography sites by misleading banner ads, and not be at all interested in >receiving adult-oriented advertising. Similar errors relating to other >topic areas can occur from any number of the inadvertent Web sites that all >of us hit in the process of typical Web browsing. Predictive will let >people see the profiles that have been built about them--but sometimes you'll >have to *pay* for the privilege! There are other interesting catches >as well: > > "In developing our anonymous subscriber Digital Silhouettes, Predictive > Networks captures, analyzes and then discards URL click-stream data. > While we do not permanently retain a record of each subscriber's usage, > we can, upon request, make their Digital Silhouette available to them > for review. Any subscriber on The Predictive Network has the right to > view their Digital Silhouette free of charge twice during the calendar > year. Subscribers will be charged $50.00 per request thereafter. > Subscribers can obtain a copy of their Digital Silhouette by emailing > Predictive Networks at [EMAIL PROTECTED] The email > request must contain the subscriber's anonymous ID number, which can be > found on their computer by holding down the shift key and > right-clicking on about. The corresponding Digital Silhouette will be > emailed back to the subscriber within approximately ten business days. > Subscriber should note that by emailing Predictive Networks, they may > be "identifying" themselves to the Company. While we do not > incorporate this information into our Digital Silhouettes, we do > maintain a separate record of Digital Silhouette requests for > accounting and billing purposes. Should a subscriber object to any or > all of the information contained in their Digital Silhouette, they can > opt-out of The Predictive Network permanently, or opt-out and > re-register, which will erase the existing Digital Silhouette and begin > a new one. Again, Predictive Networks urges subscribers to consult > their Internet service provider before opting-out as doing so may > affect their Internet service and/or their Internet service rate." > >The last sentence above is of *special* interest to the question of how >"optional" this tracking really would be. It is apparently Predictive's >intention to encourage ISPs, both free and the conventional fee-based types, >to partner with them to create new revenue streams for the ISPs (and for >Predictive, of course). It would appear to be the plan that in most cases >any use of free ISPs who have associated themselves with Predictive would be >predicated on your acceptance of the tracking. You can opt-out, or refuse to >opt-in, but then you can't use the ISP. Not much of an option! The details >about the tracking may also be buried within an ISP's own privacy or other >policy statements, making it even less likely that most people will ever >bother reading or understanding all of the detailed ramifications of their >using these systems. > >It also appears to be Predictive's intention to encourage fee-based ISPs to >offer lower rates to users willing to be tracked. This can rapidly degrade >into a coercive situation where users who do not wish to participate in such >tracking will be forced to pay ever higher rates simply to maintain the same >level of privacy and non-tracking that they had in the first place (as the >immortal Alice learned, "running faster and faster to stay in the same >place"...) Can ISPs resist this temptation? If not, the *fundamental* >structure of the Internet and Web will be permanently changed in a manner >that could make reasonably-priced, non-tracked Internet access a rapidly >fading memory, and make all of the abuse potentials of these tracking >technologies the status quo engrained within the Internet infrastructure. > >After Predictive gets their privacy policy online at their Web site, I urge >everyone interested in these issues to read the entire text. There are many >other interesting sections, such as how they're dealing with the issue of >tracking children under the age of 13 (vis-a-vis the new Federal Trade >Commission regulations on this topic). Basically, Predictive says that you >either must keep such children away from the computer, or must agree that >it's OK for the children to be tracked. It's all or nothing. > >Predictive of course says that they are very concerned about privacy. >They told me that they're forming a "privacy advisory board"--and so on. > >I have a different suggestion. How about if the users of the Internet and >World Wide Web, the millions and soon billions of individuals, take a stand >while we still have the opportunity? We still have the chance to say that >our personal information is our own and that our Web browsing behavior is >private. We may yet be able to successfully assert that we won't be >manipulated, coerced, or otherwise "bribed" into allowing our Web activities >to (as "The Prisoner" put it) be "pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, >debriefed, or numbered!" > >The Internet and Web have tremendous commercial potential. But it can be >achieved ethically and without the use of obnoxious technologies that are >being shoved down our throats like feed for animals destined for the dinner >table. The firms who view the Internet as little more than a "cash cow" are >already placing the software rings in our noses in an effort to see us made >easier to manipulate and control. > >The stink of the slaughterhouse may not be far away. > >--Lauren-- >Lauren Weinstein >[EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Co-Founder, PFIR: People for Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org >Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com >Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy > >------------------------------ > >End of PRIVACY Forum Digest 09.13 >************************ </x-flowed> --- end forwarded text -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
