The fourth largest cable company in the US has canned plans to snoop on customers' Internet use and wallop them with advertising.

Charter wanted to make a bit of cash on the side from advertisers, who would use the information to target online pitches.
While the plan would have protected what Charter thinks was personal information, privacy watchdogs turned purple when the idea was mooted.

Since one of the people who were a little concerned about the plan included Edward Markey, who is chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on telecommunications and the internet, the company decided to shelve the plan.

Markey said that it would have allowed profiling of an individual, as well as where they were going and what they were doing online. He was concerned that there was no guarantee that this information could not ultimately be compromised.
The company said that its focus groups indicated that 'most broadband consumers would look upon this service favourably'; however, since the idea was announced it got a bit more direct feedback from its customers that indicated it was not such a hot idea. X

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Washington Post