In an expanding inquiry into the state of consumer privacy on the Internet, House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders sent letters Friday to more than 30 companies, demanding to know whether they track where their users go online and use that information to deliver personalized advertising.
Among the companies receiving the letters were Google Inc., Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp., AT&T Inc., Comcast Corp., Qwest Communications International Inc., Verizon Communications Inc., Time Warner Inc.’s AOL unit and Time Warner Cable Inc. The companies were given a week to respond.
But the latest letters broaden the inquiry to encompass much bigger and better-known players on the Internet. The letters seek details on how many consumers have been tracked, whether those people have been notified and whether they were given the option to “opt out” of it. The committee also wants to know how the collected information is used and how it is gathered — for example, whether the companies aggregate data from different online applications.
Ari Schwartz, vice president of the Center for Democracy & Technology, a civil liberties group, said he is optimistic that the congressional inquiries could lead to general privacy legislation that would safeguard consumer data gathered both online and offline.
We will be keeping a close watch on the results as the impact to consumers and marketers could be profound. Our belief all along is that marketers who employ behavioral advertising solutions to better target consumers with relevant advertising are walking a very fine privacy line, and could suffer significant brand damage when consumers realize those brands are tracking where they go online, what they are searching for, and their email communications.
