"The network is asserting almost complete control of the users' ability to use their network as a gateway to the Internet," said Marvin Ammori, general counsel of Free Press, a Washington-based consumer advocacy group. "They become gatekeepers rather than gateways."Specifically, ISP's reserve the right to:But the provisions are rarely enforced, except against obvious miscreants like spammers. Consumer outrage would have been the likely result if AT&T Inc. took advantage of its stated right to block any activity that causes the company "to be viewed unfavorably by others."
Jonathan Zittrain, professor of Internet governance and regulation at Oxford University, said this clause was a "piece of boilerplate that is passed around the corporate lawyers like a Christmas fruitcake.
"The idea that they would ever invoke it and point to it is nuts, especially since their terms of service already say they can cut you off for any reason and give you a refund for the balance of the month," Zittrain said.
AT&T removed the "unfavorably by others" wording in February after The Associated Press asked about the reason behind it. Subscribers, however, wouldn't know that it was gone unless they checked the contract word for word: The document still said it was last updated Oct. 8, 2007.
Most companies reserve the right to change the contracts at any time, without any notice except an update on the Web site. Verizon used to say it would notify subscribers of changes by e-mail, but the current contract just leaves that as an option for the company.
The online behavior of a small but growing number of computer users in the United States is monitored by their Internet service providers, who have access to every click and keystroke that comes down the line.We really dislike the pessimists writing for the AP's investigative unit. They break all the sad stories, the ones proving our water is a pharmaceutical factory and that large corporations use our private data for their amusement. Report on something positive for a change, like: aren't bunnies cute? How'd they get so cute? And no, it has nothing to do with toxins or a distorted marketplace. They're just cute, ok? We want 5,000 words on the topic in our inbox by Friday. Now ISPs, in exchange for allowing you to read this uplifting report, you agree not to read any of our other emails. Deal?The companies harvest the stream of data for clues to a person's interests, making money from advertisers who use the information to target their online pitches.
[..]
The extent of the practice is difficult to gauge because some service providers involved have declined to discuss their practices. Many Web surfers, moreover, probably have little idea they are being monitored.
But at least 100,000 U.S. customers are tracked this way, and service providers have been testing it with as many as 10 percent of U.S. customers, according to tech companies involved in the data collection.
Although common tracking systems, known as cookies, have counted a consumer's visits to a network of sites, the new monitoring, known as "deep-packet inspection," enables a far wider view -- every Web page visited, every e-mail sent and every search entered. Every bit of data is divided into packets -- like electronic envelopes -- that the system can access and analyze for content.
ISPs Hog Rights in Fine Print [AP]
Every Click You Make [Washington Post]
(Photo: Getty)
@Blueskylaw: "How many employees does it take to read the e-mails of 100,000 people on a regular basis?"
They only need employess to read the emails that set off the automated keyword filters.
]]>About 567, all based in Banglore, and all making about 5 Indian rupees per hour.
]]>"Internet service providers are actively tracking 100,000 users, reading every email they send and every website they visit."
How many employees does it take to read the e-mails of 100,000 people on a regular basis?
]]>I went to look for the cute bunnies and found them humping and then.......
]]>Anyone who has ever worked with packet sniffers, knows you guys are freaking out. There are so many different kinds of packets, and with broadband, so much more information coming through. It would take some extreme software I've never heard of it, or 20 million brilliant packet sniffing experts to 'spy' on their customers.
]]>Fact: ISP's our not federally regulated, accept under standard FTC and FCC rules (mostly pre-existing).
Fact: If you want to send sensitive, personal or otherwise private information to someone, don't use e-mail.
Fact: If you have to use e-mail, use encryption. Plenty of free solutions out there.
Fact: Employees of many businesses which are granted special access to do their job may well abuse their authority to "snoop". Snooping is far more prevalent than anyone has realized.
As for the articles, they are a bit over-sensational. No ISP can actually employ the time and/or people to actively read all of their customers e-mails. And it's substantially more difficult to even try this if an ISP is not actively hosting your e-mail.
My ISP doesn't host my e-mail. I control the server all my e-mail goes to and all my e-mail traffic with that server is encrypted. The Datacenter the server rides on could sniff all the traffic from my server and read my e-mail. But it'd take a lot more resources than they could afford. It's a small little datacenter.
But seriously, the Washington Post part is probably full of dozens of errors. I rarely see mainstream news journalism ever properly comprehend the technology they report on.
]]>Actually, the HIPA part only covers you unless there's an express consent agreement - but your physician and/or insurance company would have to be a party to that agreement, as well.
]]>It has already been said, but the USAPATRIOT act is what allows the ISPs to do this.
--------
@Others:
No clause in any contract with your ISP allows them to look at any banking or HIPA-covered information, fortunately. The government isn't even allowed access to HIPA-covered data without a warrant, PATRIOT or no PATRIOT.
So, at least for the time being, you're safe in your banking and insurance-related activities.
]]>There's a huge stink going on about this in the UK. Apparently, BT, the UK's incumbent phone provider and a large ISP, trialled a new profiling system in 2006 without informing customers, and this may be illegal under UK wiretapping law. See [news.bbc.co.uk]
Phorm is UK company which is also talking to US ISPs: [www.nytimes.com]
]]>@nardo218: Patriot Act.
]]>@jefffromNY: you do know that it's the Patriot Act which leads to this sort of behavior being oked by the government, right?
The Patriot Act is one of the worst things the Gov. has done in a very long time.
]]>Probobly. I wouldn't worry. If you want to talk about dirty things with people through e-mail it's not like they can come put you in jail for it. I don't care what they read from me. Offcourse I'm not working with underground agents to take over islands either.
]]>Hold on everyone! I want to assure you that all of your ISPs take your privacy rights very seriously. They will not invade our rights, except for ATT who got caught in bed with the NSA. But all the others are looking out for us. I'm almost certain.
]]>But, given the rampant spread of identity/behavior sales it's hard to imagine a situation where nobody would use their position in the data stream to harvest private information.
Hey, if it isn't illegal it must be okay, right? /gag
]]>If they could also reply to my emails for me that would save me a lot of time and wouldn't bother me so much then if they read my email then.
]]>Sorry for you on this one jeffery, but I think you already know the answer is that the ISP's can and do anything non-government that they please because the will to stop this practice doesn't effectively exist.
]]>Damn.
So, uh, is there a way to encrypt your traffic? Anything?
]]>1) I'm an active Consumerist reader (gee, is that one way to tell them that they're in for a fight if they do something stupid and think that they can get away with it)
2) I'm active in a couple of credit related communities.
3) I like to collaborate lesson plans for a high school class online with my teaching partner
4) I tend for my finances daily
5) I love to download. Period.
]]>This SSL encrypts your email not just during login, but while you are reading/sending emails. So at least your ISP will have to do some work before reading your email.
]]>note: same goes with email communications.
]]>So since I am on someone else's wifi network .... they are going to be targeted with ads for metal detecting & tentacle rape porn?
Since I like using wifi networks that are not neccessarily mine.... I dont post intimate details about my life that can be traced back to me specifically. I also dont access my bank or other financial info online with this computer or wifi networks.
I am already paranoid about what I say/put online as it is.
]]>Always assume the Internet is being monitored by somebody..if not your ISP, then some federal agency. Thankfully, most of us are boring enough that the powers-that-be will move on and try to find somebody that's doing something convictible.
]]>Sweet, we're like splooge-brothers.
]]>