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NEWS RELEASE

Committee on Energy and Commerce
Rep. John D. Dingell, Chairman


For Immediate Release: August 1, 2008
Contact: Jodi Seth or Alex Haurek, 202-225-5735

 

Energy and Commerce Committee Questions Data Practices of Network Operators

Washington, D.C. – A key Congressional Committee is initiating an inquiry into the privacy concerns raised by the data collection practices of Internet network operators who tailor Internet advertising based on a consumer’s Web surfing activity. Leaders of the Committee on Energy and Commerce wrote today to top cable, phone and Internet companies asking that the companies provide information about their data collection practices.

The letter was signed by Reps. John D. Dingell (D-MI) and Joe Barton (R-TX), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Reps. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Cliff Stearns (R-FL), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee.

Earlier this month, Dingell and Markey wrote to Embarq Corporation regarding a test the company had performed to tailor advertising to consumers’ web browsing habits. On July 17, the Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee held a hearing on deep packet inspection and the privacy issues implicated by the technology.

Today’s letter was sent to: AOL; AT&T; Bresnan Communications; Bright House Networks; CableOne; Cablevision; Cbeyond; CenturyTel; Charter; Citizen Communications; Comcast; Covad; Cox; Earthlink; Google; Insight; Knology; Level 3; Mediacom; Microsoft; PAETEC; Qwest; RCN; Suddenlink; Time Warner Cable; tw telecom; WideOpenWest; TDS Telecom; United Online; Windstream Communications; Verizon; XO Communications; and Yahoo!.

View the letter »

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Prepared by the Committee on Energy and Commerce
2125 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515