10/17/07
Author: MacRonin
Source: Privacydigest.com

Verizon letter on privacy stirs debate
Verizon letter on privacy stirs debate: Verizon Wireless, one of the nation's largest cell phone 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."

Brian Ashby, associate general counsel for Verizon, said the company was seeking to share that information only among Verizon divisions, so it can better sell new products to existing customers. In the mailing, Verizon gave customers 30 days to "opt out" if they did not want their information shared.

But analysts and consumer advocates suggest the company may also be interested in gathering information as it prepares to tailor the advertising it displays on cell phone screens, based on individual customer habits and attributes. Mobile advertising is an untapped source of revenue among mobile phone companies looking to expand their businesses.

The concern about the mailing, which spread quickly online and resulted in the company clarifying its position late yesterday, points to the privacy challenges facing communications companies as they seek to deliver information and advertising directly to cell phone users.

"It wouldn't surprise me if they are trying to get more information, a customer profile, as they try to expand into other services, like targeted advertising or offering other products to consumers," said Gene Kimmelman, vice president of federal and international affairs at the Consumers Union, a nonprofit consumer group in Washington.

Kimmelman said that using phone records for ad delivery would be especially sensitive. "There is a cultural expectation of complete privacy with the telephone," he said. "Consumers are not thinking about it yet as a broad multimedia mechanism."

Ashby said the information collected would be shared only among Verizon's landline, wireless and Internet subsidiaries, along with the Vodafone Group of Britain, which owns 45 percent of Verizon Wireless. "The point of this notice is to share information in the corporate family," he said.

Verizon Wireless's more than 60 million customers can opt out of sharing their information by calling a toll-free number, 800-333-9956. But if they do not do so within 30 days of receiving the letter, Verizon said it would assume they want their information shared.

According to the customer mailing, Verizon plans to share what is known in the industry as consumer proprietary network information, or CPNI, which includes how many calls a customer makes, the geographical destination of the calls and what services the customer has purchased. That information cannot be shared without permission under federal and state laws.

Verizon said the information would not include a customer's name, address or phone number, and would be aggregated so that specific records could not be traced back to an individual.

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