The biggest ISPs like Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon say they do not sell customers’ private data to third parties, however, they do not promise not to collect it and not to use it for their own business purposes.
Real problems begin when ISPs start creating platforms for displaying ads. Unlike a website which can track you (use cookies) only when you visit it, Internet service providers can track you constantly. As a result, ISPs create customers’ profiles, which reflect all their interests and preferences.
It is interesting that the largest websites, such as Facebook and Google (who also collect your data) are against Internet service providers having the ability to collect and sell personal data of Internet users because this creates unequal competitive conditions.
HTTPS protocol helps circumvent some privacy issues. The prefix S denotes secure and reliable connection that uses encryption methods. Internet service providers can no longer see what people do on HTTPS websites. This reduces the risk of a possible threat to personal and business secrets.
Ensuring privacy has long been a major problem of the Internet
So, do Internet providers really sell your data? Not as often as you think. However, ISPs constantly monitor your traffic. No one will use an ISPs if it becomes known that this ISP sells private data to third parties. Therefore, ISPs try to show signs of preserving the anonymity of the data.
The problem of ensuring privacy on the Internet, illegal data collection was publicized when Madison River Communications was caught blocking VoIP protocol used by Skype. This was the first time that the FCC- Federal Communications Commission tried to apply net neutrality rules for broadband providers, however, the case was discontinued before specific facts were established. Madison River Communications agreed to stop blocking traffic and pay a fine in exchange for the FCC refusing to investigate further.
When Comcast was accused of throttling traffic, the privacy issue sounded even louder. It was caught providing different volumes of traffic to users and enterprises trying to improve the throughput for some customers at the expense of others. Basically, streaming media applications and P2P file-sharing services were discriminated. When several users discovered traffic throttling in 2007, they appealed to the US court because the principle of net neutrality implies that all users must be serviced by the provider on equal terms. The FCC recognized the actions of the ISP as unfair and indicated the need to immediately stop this practice, however, the decision later had to be canceled due to the fact that the FCC no longer had the necessary powers.
2013, AT&T, took advantage of its position as the largest American ISP, introduced an innovation, according to which customers who refused to provide their data for ad targeting were charged an additional $29 fee. Under a heavy fire of criticism, the program was discontinued in 2016.
There is a case in which CMS Communications, a broadband provider, was found to have placed ads on top of the content of its subscribers. One of the company’s clients, a computer specialist, said that at first, he thought that Apple had started rogue cross-marketing activities and that he also got infected with a virus. Both thoughts made him turn pale with horror, because, whatever he did on the Internet, he was always seeing different unauthorized ads. After some in-depth analysis, it turned out that the ISP acted as an intermediary, using one line of code to intercept web connections and let them go through the ad server.
Online behavior of Verizon Wireless customers is being monitored by an information exchange center that provides targeted advertising. Clients can opt out of the program if they want or subscribe to special plans that allow them to receive rewards for viewing ads. But even if users opt out, the Verizon still keeps adding an identifier on their web browsing for other (than ads) purposes. The service is part of the AOL ad network. It shares customers’ information with its partners and affiliates.
The T-Mobile website’s privacy policy is not so much about your privacy, but rather about no-privacy. They do not hide that they collect your sensitive data. This data includes highly personal information such as phone number, name, email, home address, bank account info, and SSN. They also have information about all the devices and networks you use. First of all, the site uses the data for really important things, such as billing, but by providing your data for targeted advertising, it creates a huge threat to your privacy, putting your data at risk of hacking and theft.
One solution that ISPs don’t always tell you about
You can increase the security of your data if you start using virtual private networks – VPNs. It is one of the best solutions to ensure personal and business data security. This is not only a way to protect Internet connections, VPNs offer many additional benefits. These include masking your IP address, preventing geo-detection, unblocking restricted content, transferring information over encrypted communication channels. If you use a VPN, your Internet service provider can no longer view your personal data.
Imagine a huge large diameter water pipe. Here flows all Internet traffic that your ISP is offering. As soon as you join this stream, ISP can control everything you do there. And you will never know about it or even guess. Now imagine that you insert a separate unmarked hose inside this big tube. Everything that goes inside the hose cannot be seen by the ISP.
When the Internet was young, most computers were connected directly. Security issues started to appear. Confidential information transmitted via public telephone lines is an explosive mixture that creates good conditions for cybercrime.
To combat this problem, a team of specialists from DARPA (part of the US Department of Defense) and some other computer security specialists have developed new methods of protection. One of them was the use of secure servers, the other was the masking of the IP address, the third added encryption. But none of them managed to solve all the problems of cybersecurity. The solution was found in technologies that combine all these methods. In 1996, Gurdeep Singh-Pall a Microsoft employee invented PPTP – Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol, a method that gave birth to VPNs.
Initially, VPNs were too expensive and could be used exclusively for important government purposes. Only highly professional specialists who had profound scientific knowledge and experience could configure and operate the VPN network. Today, VPN has become available to a wide variety of users both on a paid and free basis.
