AT&T to Stop Collecting Customers' Internet Visits -- WSJ
October 01 2016 - 3:03AM
Dow Jones News
By Thomas Gryta
AT&T Inc. plans to discontinue collecting the web-browsing
information of its broadband customers who didn't choose a higher
priced internet service.
The company used the data to sell targeted advertising. It was
introduced in late 2013, and charges $29 for households that prefer
to withhold their data from the telecom giant. The company said it
is dropping the fee and the data collection itself.
AT&T has been rolling out superfast gigabit broadband in
many of its markets and used the data collection to support its
targeted advertising efforts.
For example, its GigaPower service in Austin, Texas, costs $70 a
month -- the same as rival Google -- but that price included the
data-collection program called Internet Preferences. The cost was
$99 for those declining the program. Now, those users will pay $70
and not have data collected.
"We plan to end the optional Internet Preferences advertising
program related to our fastest internet speed tiers," a company
spokesman said. "We'll begin communicating this update to customers
early next week."
The company said it was making the move to simplify its
offerings to customers. The news was earlier reported by
technology-news site Ars Technica.
AT&T's collection included search terms, webpages visited
and links clicked. The tracking remained in effect even if a user
cleared cookies, used an ad-blocking program, or switched on a
browser's do-not-track settings.
AT&T's move comes as the Federal Communications Commission
is weighing customer-privacy rules for internet-access providers,
including a requirement to obtain customers' permission to use
their data in many cases.
Write to Thomas Gryta at thomas.gryta@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 01, 2016 02:48 ET (06:48 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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