Last month my local cable company, Charter Communications, announced plans to track the web surfing activities of customers in my community. Its letter explained that this would lead to "an enhanced online experience that is more customized to your interests and activities." The real reason, of course, is so Charter can sell targeted advertising.
To see how Charter explains its program, check out this page:
www.charter.com/onlineadvertising
I'm not opposed to advertising, just to Big Brother-style monitoring of my online activities. How many Charter customers would opt in if we were asked to join the program instead of being forced to opt out? Just asking. And of course I opted out.
June 24 UPDATE: Today Charter "froze" this program (no implementation date as of now). Here's the Wired blog entry plus links to earlier items about the program.
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