Also Verizon Still Bad
I’ve never been one to dwell, but just to round out my (as of now) three post series on why Verizon is bad, here’s a link to a recent Times article. The first paragraph pretty much says it all:
Verizon Wireless, one of the nation’s largest cellphone carriers, has stirred up controversy with a letter it sent to customers recently telling them that it would begin sharing information from their calling records with its “affiliates, agents and parent companies.”
I should note that Verizon is giving customers 30 days to acknowledge that they want to keep their information private (just call 800-333-9956). If a customer doesn’t respond in 30 days, Verizon will assume they agree to having their information shared. I somehow doubt that all of Verizon’s 60 million customers will be made aware of their new terms of service in time. Seems like Verizon could have at least left a voicemail.
Now according to the Times, some folks are speculating that Verizon wants to use customer information to display targeted ads on cell phone screens. Roger Entner, a senior vice president for communications at IAG Research, even points out that mobile ad targeting could have its benefits.
If you take the Big Brother fear out of the picture, it helps in making ads more relevant. If you are always making calls to L.A., they might send an ad to your cell phone for cheap airline flights to L.A.
On a completely unrelated note, the Washington Post recently reported that Verizon has “provided customers’ telephone records to federal authorities in emergency cases without court orders hundreds of times since 2005.” I wonder if the government is getting into the mobile ad business as well?
Update: I’d hate to imply that Verizon is the only phone company providing the government with customer information in the absence of warrants. Here are some recent goings-on if you’re interested.