Just in case you ever planned on doing anything that you didn't want AT&T or the government to know about....
WSJ.com - AT&T Revises Privacy Policy, Says It May Share Personal Data AT&T Inc. said it clarified its privacy policy for Internet and television customers to state explicitly that subscriber information is a business record belonging to the company and may be turned over to law enforcement in some cases.AT&T also indicated that under its revised policy, which takes effect tomorrow and is being emailed to its more than seven million Internet customers, the San Antonio company plans to track customers' TV-viewing habits. Some privacy advocates said they were troubled that the policy appears to be an attempt to broaden company control over customer information.
The policy revisions come as AT&T as well as other phone companies fall under criticism, and as it faces lawsuits claiming it had inappropriately turned over customer records to the government. AT&T has denied any wrongdoing.
AT&T's new policy states: “While your account information may be personal to you, these records constitute business records that are owned by AT&T. As such, AT&T may disclose such records to protect its legitimate business interests, safeguard others or respond to legal process.”...The new policy also states that customers must agree to it before using the broadband and TV service. AT&T's old policy didn't include such a requirement.
...Some privacy advocates objected to the policy. “The public needs to be deeply concerned that AT&T is asserting proprietary ownership over a record of what they do by calling it a business record,” said Mark Cooper, director of research for the Consumer Federation of America.
AT&T's new policy, earlier reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, indicates it will track “information about viewing, game, recording and other navigation choices” for its TV services.
Tags: privacy
