Jul
25
Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) is a term that people are talking about a lot these days. While the idea of doing packet captures has existed for a long time, core network providers are now attempting to capture packets with the intent to gain a deep understanding of a users traffic habits in order to better target advertising and other content to them. I have no problem with networks needing to understand their traffic patterns in order to better engineer their networks. What I have a problem with is both the method and the mindset in which they are doing this.
Yesterday, Embarq’s CEO (owned by Sprint) stated that customers were notified two weeks before a program launched that would look at every website a user visited at a detailed level to extract keywords and other metadata about what they are viewing so that advertisements can be better targeted to them. It turns out he lied. The “notice” that customers were given was a two paragraph update posted deep on the Embarq website buried in their Terms of Service. This is unacceptable. And Embarq’s CEO, Thomas Gerke, justified it by saying:
“Embarq followed the prevailing industry practices of the most similar business model, that of online advertising networks, which also collect anonymous information across multiple unrelated Web sites and use it to serve personalized display advertisements, using this same mechanism for providing notice and choice.”
This is not at all a standard industry practice. What publishers do on individual websites is very different from what the ACCESS PROVIDER you pay for Internet access does. Let me give you an analogy that fits perfectly to what he says is acceptable and a prevailing industry practice.
The United States Postal Service has decided that they are going to open up every letter you receive and quickly scan it for keywords and intent, building a profile of what kinds of correspondence you get and what your interests are. This would include everything from bank or credit card statements to a personal letter from a loved one. They are then going to stuff your mailbox full of relevant advertising. Perhaps your mail indicates that you need help getting out of debt, or finding a divorce lawyer. Of course, following industry standard practices, the US Postal Service has updated their terms of service and you can opt-out by going to your local post office and filling out a form.
Does that seem like an acceptable practice to you?
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