Out in Los Angeles, Charter is giving media survey company A.C. Nielsen data from 330,000 subscribers' digital set-top boxes , for Nielsen to then sell to private advertisers for demographic research.
To protect the privacy of its customers, no identifying information will be included in the data, said Jim Heneghan, senior vice president for ad sales for Charter.... The information will show when a digital set-top box is turned on, the specific channel the box is tuned to and whether a show is being recorded. It will reveal when channels are switched and when the television is turned off. …
Despite Charter's assurances that data about individual customers would be guarded, some privacy advocates expressed concern about the growing industry of selling details about consumer behavior.
"Where does it stop? The company could promise anonymity today and then change their privacy policies tomorrow," said Beth Givens, director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse in San Diego.
Exactly. It likely won’t stop. You think Charter would have some big press release when it did start releasing more private information.
Here’s what Nielsen is going to do”
Beginning in about two months, Nielsen will start selling the Charter data to its clients, primarily the television networks, cable channels and advertisers. Nielsen and Charter declined Wednesday to discuss financial details.
That’s the other part of the ripoff. Charter is going to make huge bucks on this, but do you think your cable bill in L.A. is going to be reduced? Not a chance.
Thank doorknobs I still use rabbit ears.
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