http://www.osopinion.com/perl/story/16316.html
Comcast Admits To Spying on Customers By Tim McDonald www.NewsFactor.com, Part of the NewsFactor Network February 13, 2002 Stored data can be subpoenaed by law enforcement officials or by lawyers in civil cases - and it can be stolen. Cable Internet giant Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSK) reportedly has begun tracking the Web browsing habits of its customers, keeping records of every Web page they visit. The company has roughly 1 million high-speed Internet customers. The third largest cable TV company behind AT&T Cable and AOL Time Warner (NYSE: AOL), Comcast admitted that it stores the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses -- unique numeric Internet addresses assigned to subscribers -- along with the Internet address of every Web page subscribers visit. Jeffrey Chester of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Digital Democracy, a nonprofit watchdog group, called the tracking "incredibly aggressive." "It's not a surprise they are tracking what people are doing, it's just the tip of the iceberg," Chester told NewsFactor. "The next generation of broadband services provided by Comcast and others allows for this kind of tracking. The whole business model moving forward for cable and the television industry generally is one which emulates the deeply personalized e-commerce strategies." Sensitive Information Comcast also said it stores sensitive information, such as credit card numbers and passwords, in a database managed by network infrastructure specialist Inktomi (Nasdaq: INKT). Stored data can be subpoenaed by law enforcement officials or lawyers in civil cases -- and, as has been proven several times, it can be stolen. For example, last week, a database with thousands of records involving potential Comcast Business Communication Internet customers was found exposed on the Web. Comcast said the snooping was part of a technological overhaul launched to save money, according to wire service reports. However, Inktomi, which sold the technology to Comcast, asserted that Comcast was collecting more information than was absolutely necessary for technological enhancements. Leading Role Comcast claimed the tracking is permitted in its service agreement with subscribers and said it does not intend to infringe on the privacy of its customers. The company would not say how long the information it collected was stored. A company spokesperson said that customers' Web browsing is being recorded in Detroit, Michigan, and parts of Delaware and Virginia, and that such tracking will spread across the United States by the end of this week. "Personalized television is really the cornerstone of the plan Comcast and others have for the convergence of television with the Internet in the broadband online medium," Chester said. "So, technologies are being deployed, strategies are being developed, investments are being made in hardware and software and applications all across the board -- and Comcast is playing the leading role in that regard." Excuse for Privacy Erosion? Some civil libertarian groups have openly expressed concern about the erosion of online privacy in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist strikes. The FBI has been particularly aggressive in rooting out online evidence, serving ISPs with warrants under a 1978 antiterrorism law. "The privacy debate has been placed on the back burner, conveniently for companies like Comcast, because of the concern over security since September 11th," Chester said. "As this and other incidents will undoubtedly show, we need strong consumer safeguards when it comes to cable broadband." More Cities 'Digitized' Comcast announced a fourth-quarter net loss of US$321 million, due mainly to its costly effort to migrate customers from @Home, the broadband Internet service provider that recently filed for bankruptcy. The company has said it plans to add more high-speed Internet customers and is planning to spend $1.3 billion to get more cities "digitized." Comcast made a winning bid of $72 billion for AT&T Broadband in December. If the deal is approved by shareholders, the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission, it will result in the largest cable ISP in the United States, with 2.2 million high-speed Internet customers. The combined company would be called AT&T Comcast Corp.
