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<H1 class=print-title>For sale: Your cell phone habits</H1>
<DIV class=print-submitted><A
href="http://www.infoworld.com/d/adventures-in-it/sale-your-cell-phone-habits-677#talkback">http://www.infoworld.com/d/adventures-in-it/sale-your-cell-phone-habits-677#talkback</A></DIV>
<DIV class=print-submitted>By Christina Wood</DIV>
<DIV class=print-created>Created <EM>2009-09-22 10:27AM</EM></DIV>
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<P>Albert took the time to read one of those privacy notices that came to him
via e-mail and discovered, as he puts it, "Verizon Wireless is giving themselves
the right to share my information quite broadly."</P>
<P>The e-mail referred to Albert's CPNI (Customer Proprietary Network
Information), the data collected by telecommunications companies based on the
customer's usage. It includes details about the services you buy and use, right
down to their location, configuration, and quantity. According to the <A
href="http://epic.org/privacy/profiling/default.html" target=_blank>Privacy and
Consumer Profiling</A> <SPAN class=print-footnote>[1]</SPAN> report from EPIC
(<A href="http://epic.org/" target=_blank>Electronic Privacy Information
Center)</A> <SPAN class=print-footnote>[2]</SPAN>, "CPNI includes subscribers'
names, addresses, services, amount of usage of services, and calling records.
'Calling records' are lists of phone numbers that the subscriber receives calls
from or dials."</P>
<P><STRONG>[ Also on InfoWorld: <A
href="http://www.infoworld.com/d/adventures-in-it/verizon-billing-error-may-be-rampant-852?source=fssr">Verizon
billing error may be rampant</A> <SPAN class=print-footnote>[3]</SPAN> |
Frustrated by tech support? Get answers in InfoWorld's <A
href="http://www.infoworld.com/newsletters/subscribe?showlist=infoworld_gripe&source=fssr">Gripe
Line newsletter</A> <SPAN class=print-footnote>[4]</SPAN>. ] </STRONG></P>
<P>Together with the customer's name and phone number, that can potentially
yield a great deal of information about your habits, friends, associates, and
interests. This sort of data is fascinating to marketers; they like to purchase
aggregated lists of what interests you -- along with easy ways to contact you --
so that they can sell you things.</P>
<P>Even if you don't mind that, things can go terribly wrong when that data
falls into the wrong hands. According to the EPIC report, "One of the largest
commercial profilers, Metromail (now owned by Experian), used prisoners to enter
personal information from surveys into computers." A bad idea? Certainly.
According to the report, one woman was stalked as a result by "a convicted
rapist and burglar who knew everything about her--including her preferences for
bath soap and magazines." In this case, the data was gathered from surveys and
sources other than her cell phone habits, but EPIC categorizes this sort of
behavior-rich data-gathering as profiling.</P>
<P>"Most people consider CPNI private," says the <A
href="http://epic.org/privacy/profiling/default.html" target=_blank>Privacy and
Consumer Profiling</A> <SPAN class=print-footnote>[1]</SPAN> report. "And under
a 1996 telecommunications law, companies must first gain permission from the
subscriber (opt-in) before using CPNI for marketing. However, telecommunications
companies have challenged the interpretation of that law, and seek to sell CPNI
and allow marketing and profiling based on individuals' calling behaviors with
only opt-out protections."</P>
<P>An opt-out is, indeed, what Albert received. The letter stated, "Unless you
notify us within 45 days of receiving this notice that you do not want your CPNI
....shared, we will assume that you give us the right to share your CPNI." The
e-mail provides a big opt-out button at the bottom of the page; it's also
possible to go online at Verizon and opt out at a later date. This is all well
and good, Albert points out, if you have an e-mail address on file with Verizon.
But what if the e-mail is captured by your spam filter or the e-mail address on
file with the company is invalid? In that case, you are unlikely to respond and
have, therefore, opted in.</P>
<P>In Albert's example, though, you have not agreed to allow Verizon to sell
your CPNI to just any marketing company willing to proffer a little hard cash.
The letter is asking permission to share your CPNI with "the Verizon family of
companies, which includes our affiliates, agents and parent companies (including
Vodafone), as well as their subsidiaries." To make that clear, a bold-faced
statement in the letter announces, "Regardless of your decision, your CPNI will
never be shared by Verizon Wireless with any unrelated third parties."</P>
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