Stanford CIS

AT&T Offers Data Privacy — for a Price

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"Jonathan Mayer, a Stanford University computer scientist who focuses on online monitoring technology, said user tracking by companies that provide both wireless and wired Internet access were worrisome. Such companies are in a position to perform relatively comprehensive tracking, and customers no practical way to thwart it, he said.

Given that many Web companies let users opt out of sharing certain information free of charge, Mayer questioned whether AT&T’s privacy option was designed to discourage people from opting out of tracking. The monthly charge “seems like a huge penalty intended to normalize the practice” of tracking, he said."

Published in: Press , Data Privacy , Privacy