ISPs won’t be allowed to serve targeted ads without customers’ permission

(credit: Illustration by Sean MacEntee)

Internet service providers and wireless carriers would have to seek permission from customers before using their private information for certain marketing purposes, if new rules proposed by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler are approved.

For example, ISPs could only share a subscriber's Internet usage habits with advertising companies or other third parties if the subscriber opts in to such usage. An ISP also wouldn't be able to serve targeted ads to you based on your Web browsing habits without first obtaining opt-in consent.

"Your ISP handles all of your network traffic," Wheeler wrote in a blog post today. "That means it has a broad view of all of your unencrypted online activity—when you are online, the websites you visit, and the apps you use. If you have a mobile device, your provider can track your physical location throughout the day in real time. Even when data is encrypted, your broadband provider can piece together significant amounts of information about you—including private information such as a chronic medical condition or financial problems—based on your online activity."

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