Charter Backtracks on NebuAd

Posted by jake on June 25th, 2008 filed in StashBlog

Nate Anderson over at Ars Technica is reporting that Charter Communications has halted their NebuAd project - which would have ‘enhanced’ user experiences by using deep packet inspection (DPI) to track and analyze web-surfing habits and then insert ads. This change in plans comes after Charter received heat from the US Congress. Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) had this to say about the news:

“Given the serious privacy concerns raised by the sophisticated ad-serving technology Charter Communications planned to test market, I am pleased to hear that the company has decided to delay implementation of this program, which electronically profiled individual consumer web usage. I urge other broadband companies considering similar user profiling programs to similarly hold off on implementation while these important privacy concerns can be addressed.”

Ars notes, however, that Charter is as of yet just delaying implementation of NebuAd and that other companies, such as UK outfit Phorm, are attempting to bring similar services to market.

Read Ars’ full report here or check out a Washington Post article on the matter here.

For more on Charter’s initial plan for the NebuAd program hit Ars’ excellent report from May.

-Jake

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