Charter Suspends Ad Targeting Over Customers’ Privacy Concerns

Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 by Andy Beal

Charter Suspends Ad Targeting Over Customers’ Privacy Concerns

It looks like privacy concerns have put Charter Communications ad targeting plans on hold.

As we reported last month, ISPs are sitting on a wealth of personalized data, but lawmakers have expressed concerns over the methods used to tap into that data–especially "deep packet inspection."

The pressure has obviously become too much for Charter which, conveniently, spins the suspension of its ad plans into a mere pause, while it listens to customers.

"As we do with all new service launches or initiatives, we conducted focus groups well in advance, which told us that most broadband consumers would look upon this service favorably," Charter said on Wednesday.

"However, some of our customers have presented questions about this service as well as suggested improvements," it said. "We will continue to take a thoughtful, deliberate approach with the goal to ultimately structure an advertising service that enhances the Internet experience for our customers and addresses questions and concern they’ve raised."

Translated: We thought we could make a lot of money off of this, but it turns out our customers would rather we didn’t spy on them.

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8 comments on “Charter Suspends Ad Targeting Over Customers’ Privacy Concerns”

Nicole Price Says:

June 25th, 2008 at 10:46 am

Great translation!

Nicole Price’s last blog post..Home Decor (Part II)
Keirsun Says:

June 25th, 2008 at 11:48 am

Thanks for the update Andy. Now I’m waiting for someone to investigate whether Charter is actually going to convert to digital cable next year, or if they’re just going to charge more for the same analog service. See:
http://www.dtv.gov/consumercorner.html#faq30
Otilia Otlacan Says:

June 25th, 2008 at 1:57 pm

LOL @ translation - so true! Targeting by user profile or behavior can sometimes be borderline creepy… and it gets even creepier when it’s tied back to your ‘real world’, offline data that ISPs have (name, address, billing details etc.)

Otilia Otlacan’s last blog post..IAB President Randall Rothenberg to Testify at House Small Business Committee Hearing
Tiffany Says:

June 26th, 2008 at 7:58 am

Perfect translation…LOL
Austin(Cowsgonemadd3) Says:

June 27th, 2008 at 4:01 pm

Look a ISP that listens to its customers.

Austin(Cowsgonemadd3)’s last blog post..Sony loses 3.3 billion on the playstation 3 game console
SeoPositive Says:

June 27th, 2008 at 4:46 pm

Great.
HighTech Issues and the US Election on Webcology - Net Neutrality » Search Engine Optimization Blog Says:

June 27th, 2008 at 5:48 pm

[...] Internet as a powerful tool when keeping service providers in check, as demonstrated recently when Charter Communications suspended an invasive ad-targeting plan in the face of consumer concern. Both sides of the net neutrality [...]
Cat Says:

July 1st, 2008 at 7:18 am

Great translation!

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