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February 13th, 2002, 04:57 AM
AP • Reuters • Science
Comcast Tracks Users' Web Browsing
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02/12/2002 11:07 PM EST
By TED BRIDIS
Comcast Corp., the nation's third-largest cable company, has begun recording the Web browsing activities of its 1 million high-speed Internet subscribers without notifying them of the change.
Comcast said Tuesday the recording of each Web page a subscriber visits was part of a technology overhaul designed to save money and improve the speed of cable Internet service to its customers and was not intended to infringe on privacy. The company said it believes the recording was permitted by language in their service agreement with subscribers.
Technology experts cautioned that the data could be subpoenaed by law enforcement agencies or lawyers in civil cases, and they questioned whether Comcast's move reflects a more cavalier attitude toward online privacy in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"Once you're sitting on it, you're really inviting all kinds of requests," said David Sobel of the Washington-based Electronic Privacy Information Center. "If they can't identify a need to be collecting it, they should take the necessary steps to eliminate it."
The company that sold Comcast the technology acknowledged the cable company is collecting more information about the online activities of customers than is necessary for the technology enhancements.
"It's not needed," said Steve Russell, a vice president for Inktomi Corp. Russell said Inktomi's software also records other information from Comcast subscribers, such as passwords for Web sites and credit-card numbers under limited circumstances.
Russell discounted privacy concerns, saying engineers are using the information to improve Comcast performance.
Comcast Executive Vice President Dave Watson said that while the company records information about each customer's Web browsing, it does not use the information to build customer profiles.
"Comcast absolutely does not share personal information about our customers, and we have the utmost respect for our customers' privacy," Watson said.
Watson also said Comcast was recording no more information about its customers than is common throughout the industry and no more than it needs to optimize its network.
Two of the nation's largest Internet providers, America Online and Earthlink, said, however, that they do not record the Web browsing of their combined 35 million subscribers.
"We definitely would have no interest in doing that at all," said Earthlink's chief privacy officer, Les Seagraves. "We don't want to have customer records about where they've visited."
AOL uses performance-enhancing technology, similar to that introduced by Comcast, on its network. But AOL spokesman Nicholas Graham said, "We do not track the personal Web activity of our members for privacy reasons."
Comcast spokesman Tim Fitzpatrick said Web browsing was already being recorded for its subscribers in Detroit and in parts of Delaware and Virginia, and would be extended across the nation by the end of this week.
Fitzpatrick acknowledged customers weren't notified separately of any behind-the-scenes recording. But he said the company's existing subscriber and privacy agreements, available on its Web site, tell customers that Comcast collects information "about where you go on the service or on the Web."
Fitzpatrick said Comcast, using the Inktomi software, is recording the numeric Internet address uniquely assigned to each subscriber, along with the Internet address of each requested Web page. Comcast stores the information for days before it's deleted, but it won't say for exactly how long. Watson, the Comcast executive vice president, also said the company does not match a subscriber's actual identity to the Internet address they're using online.
Comcast's recording is part of an overhaul using behind-the-scenes "proxy" computers, which funnel Web surfing through powerful, centralized computers. Customers previously could volunteer to use these proxy computers, but they are automatically activated now. The proxy computers track the most popular Web sites to determine which ones should be copied to its central computers.
Industry experts said there was no need to match Web surfing back to the specific Internet addresses of subscribers.
"I'm furious," said George Imburgia, an Internet security expert in Dover, Del., and a Comcast customer. "They're monitoring and logging everybody's activities." Imburgia compared it to the surveillance software the FBI uses: "It's an evil, Carnivore-type thing."
Outfitted with high-tech eavesdropping tools and a court order, the FBI can secretly record what a person does online - but only after agents identify the target and install monitoring equipment.
Police and the FBI are increasingly turning to computer evidence in criminal and terrorist investigations. Just last month, the FBI warned that al-Qaida members had sought information about dangerous insecticides from Internet sites. Since Sept. 11, some Internet providers have been served with warrants for subscriber information under a powerful 1978 anti-terrorism law.
Comcast Tracks Users' Web Browsing
Email this Story
02/12/2002 11:07 PM EST
By TED BRIDIS
Comcast Corp., the nation's third-largest cable company, has begun recording the Web browsing activities of its 1 million high-speed Internet subscribers without notifying them of the change.
Comcast said Tuesday the recording of each Web page a subscriber visits was part of a technology overhaul designed to save money and improve the speed of cable Internet service to its customers and was not intended to infringe on privacy. The company said it believes the recording was permitted by language in their service agreement with subscribers.
Technology experts cautioned that the data could be subpoenaed by law enforcement agencies or lawyers in civil cases, and they questioned whether Comcast's move reflects a more cavalier attitude toward online privacy in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"Once you're sitting on it, you're really inviting all kinds of requests," said David Sobel of the Washington-based Electronic Privacy Information Center. "If they can't identify a need to be collecting it, they should take the necessary steps to eliminate it."
The company that sold Comcast the technology acknowledged the cable company is collecting more information about the online activities of customers than is necessary for the technology enhancements.
"It's not needed," said Steve Russell, a vice president for Inktomi Corp. Russell said Inktomi's software also records other information from Comcast subscribers, such as passwords for Web sites and credit-card numbers under limited circumstances.
Russell discounted privacy concerns, saying engineers are using the information to improve Comcast performance.
Comcast Executive Vice President Dave Watson said that while the company records information about each customer's Web browsing, it does not use the information to build customer profiles.
"Comcast absolutely does not share personal information about our customers, and we have the utmost respect for our customers' privacy," Watson said.
Watson also said Comcast was recording no more information about its customers than is common throughout the industry and no more than it needs to optimize its network.
Two of the nation's largest Internet providers, America Online and Earthlink, said, however, that they do not record the Web browsing of their combined 35 million subscribers.
"We definitely would have no interest in doing that at all," said Earthlink's chief privacy officer, Les Seagraves. "We don't want to have customer records about where they've visited."
AOL uses performance-enhancing technology, similar to that introduced by Comcast, on its network. But AOL spokesman Nicholas Graham said, "We do not track the personal Web activity of our members for privacy reasons."
Comcast spokesman Tim Fitzpatrick said Web browsing was already being recorded for its subscribers in Detroit and in parts of Delaware and Virginia, and would be extended across the nation by the end of this week.
Fitzpatrick acknowledged customers weren't notified separately of any behind-the-scenes recording. But he said the company's existing subscriber and privacy agreements, available on its Web site, tell customers that Comcast collects information "about where you go on the service or on the Web."
Fitzpatrick said Comcast, using the Inktomi software, is recording the numeric Internet address uniquely assigned to each subscriber, along with the Internet address of each requested Web page. Comcast stores the information for days before it's deleted, but it won't say for exactly how long. Watson, the Comcast executive vice president, also said the company does not match a subscriber's actual identity to the Internet address they're using online.
Comcast's recording is part of an overhaul using behind-the-scenes "proxy" computers, which funnel Web surfing through powerful, centralized computers. Customers previously could volunteer to use these proxy computers, but they are automatically activated now. The proxy computers track the most popular Web sites to determine which ones should be copied to its central computers.
Industry experts said there was no need to match Web surfing back to the specific Internet addresses of subscribers.
"I'm furious," said George Imburgia, an Internet security expert in Dover, Del., and a Comcast customer. "They're monitoring and logging everybody's activities." Imburgia compared it to the surveillance software the FBI uses: "It's an evil, Carnivore-type thing."
Outfitted with high-tech eavesdropping tools and a court order, the FBI can secretly record what a person does online - but only after agents identify the target and install monitoring equipment.
Police and the FBI are increasingly turning to computer evidence in criminal and terrorist investigations. Just last month, the FBI warned that al-Qaida members had sought information about dangerous insecticides from Internet sites. Since Sept. 11, some Internet providers have been served with warrants for subscriber information under a powerful 1978 anti-terrorism law.