NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Data pimping catches ISP on the hop
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/22/wide_open_west_users_with_nebuad/ Data pimping catches ISP on the hop Who ate all the cookies? Page: 1 2 Next > By Cade Metz in San Francisco Published Tuesday 22nd April 2008 12:02 GMT What's the story with Phorm, NebuAd, and other behavioral targeting firms that track user data from inside the world's ISPs? In some cases, even the ISP can't tell you. In February, the Silicon Valley-based NebuAd deployed its deep-packet inspection technology on a Middle America ISP known as WOW!, formerly WideOpenWest. The official word from NebuAd is that its partner ISPs are required to directly notify customers via letter or email before its hardware is turned on, but WOW! - America's 12th largest cable operator, serving Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio - says this did not happen on its service. According to vice president of programming Peter Smith, WOW! updated its terms of service to include a mention of NebuAd, and in some cases, it told customers that the terms had been updated. But it didn't go any further. snip At least two WOW! customers argue that the ISP's initial notification was not enough. Both of these Chicago-area customers were unaware that NebuAd was tracking their behavior until some unexpected Web cookies turned up on their machines. When they visited Google, non-Google cookies were being read by addresses such as "nebuad.adjuggler.com." When these users contacted WOW! customer support, reps initially denied that the ISP was responsible for the cookies. So these customers did some digging on their own, eventually turning up the NebuAd mention in WOW's terms of service. Only then did reps confirm that NebuAd was a partner. Someone else's cookies When we contacted WOW! to discuss the matter, VP Peter Smith initially denied that NebuAd uses tracking cookies. "There's been a lot of rumors out there are not correct," Smith told us. "NebuAd doesn't drop cookies, so those were someone else's cookies." When pressed, Smith then said that NebuAd only drops a cookie when users opt-out of the service. snip NebuAd's behavior-tracking service is similar to ISP-based services used by Phorm in the UK and Front Porch here the US (though Front Porch shares its data with outside ad firms). Other operations that appear to be working on similar services include Adzilla and Project Rialto, a "stealth company" created by Alcatel-Lucent, but these firms did not respond to our interview requests. According to NebuAd, its current ISP contracts give it access to the search and browsing activity of at least 10 per cent of American net surfers. It then uses this data to target advertisements. snip