Congress quizzes Embarq - When did you last hand over customer data?

By Dave Murray @ Thursday, July 17, 2008 10:55 AM

Section - Telecoms/Fabric

The US Congress has quizzed Embarq about its links with a company that tracks online subscribers' web traffic for advertising purposes.

Embarq is the nation's fourth-largest landline company and has been linked with NebuAd. NebuAid works with ISPs to target advertising based on which websites subscribers visit, and its antics have angered privacy groups.

Senator Edward Markey, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, has written to the Embaq asking about a test it conducted with NebuAd. He wanted to know if the subscribers were notified of how their information would be used, and whether they were given a chance to opt out of the test.

Markey was also concerned about what Embaq did with the data it gathered. It appeared that Embaq used technology without directly notifying customers that their activity was being tracked, collected and analysed.

A spokeswoman for Embarq said the company was reviewing the letter and couldn't comment further. X

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