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ISP can sell our web history..Is that true?



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ISP can sell our web history..Is that true?

I was reading an article online, about Internet Service Providers that they are able to sell our web history to big advertising companies, the real reason that they are doing or can do this is because they want to use our web history for their ads,to get more visibility and to better target ads to people. Ok, for them it seems something very "normal" because we live in a world where money is everything.. i hate to say but unfortunately it's true..


My questions is : isn't all of this a bit illegal?

Feel free to share your thoughts...

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idealmike
I was reading about this just recently and it's not even a really new thing! And the conclusion is that this is one of those cases where you need to check the small print! If your ISP is selling your browsing history then they need to state that in their terms and conditions pages. In fact, if an ISP is offering a really attractive deal, chances are they are doing so because they will be tracking and selling your web browsing history to advertisers. In fact mostly all ISP's track your history for a number of reasons. Mainly because your browsing history is a revenue stream for them. Most ISP's will compile anonymous browsing logs and sell them to marketing companies. However, they do have to tell you about this if they do that. They don't have to actually tell you in big bright letters though. They can just include it in their terms and conditions pages. And those pages are often a mile long and let's be honest, who sits there reading all of it when all they want is an Internet connection to access Facebook and do some shopping online? After all, we're always constantly bombarded by ads online anyway. Whether on Facebook or some other website you usually visit. It's just a part of life. So selling that data isn't illegal provided they have stated what they do in their terms and conditions page and they aren't actually selling your personal identifiable information. The data they sell doesn't or shouldn't contain personal identifiable information about you such as your name and address. Only lists of which sites were visited, what was purchased, that kind of thing.

If you're really really worried and don't want to be tracked at all (even by your ISP) the only real thing to do is use Tor browser. It's an onion relay that uses different servers from all around the world to connect you online and it's much harder for your ISP to track you when you're using Tor and an onion relay. But even that doesn't keep you 100% safe and if they really wanted to they can still trace you. Basically, to put it bluntly, the safest computer in the world is one that's switched off and disconnected from the wall.



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giann1s18
Hello procoder.

With my knowledge, I can tell you that websites like YouTube, Facebook etc. collect information from our web history to help for better target advertisements. That's what I knew. I did not know about ISP's

Although, what I came up with, while reading your thread is that, yes, this seems to be kinda illegal.

However, it seems to be safe for you as it will be anonymous, logically, so there is no difference or impact for you, right?
Please correct me if I am wrong



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Lynne
Oh this is unethical stuff isn't it? I wouldn't be surprised if it is happening though. I have found that my contact details are being sold all over the place already. I get cold calls from companies all the time and also emails.



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Cristian
The big US ISPs are doing this for a long time already. Don't know much about the rest of the world but I bet they're all doing it, especially if someone gives them money for it.
I'm sure there are plenty of legal loops to justify their actions for invading our privacy. I personally don't have a problem since I'm not doing anything illegal and I'm capable of making my own mind about stuff I like and things I dislike.No amount of targeted ads would change that.
I don't use an ads blocker because I work in online marketing, I need to see ads and what other companies are doing.



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anwebservices
It's not just ISP who making business on our personal details. i experienced this in few different ways. There is also mobile phone companies, electricity companies and most other in western world, where they suck you in with some nice deals to become their customer then they selling "bulk customers" to other companies and after you being sold without your permission, you get completely another deal, mostly more expensive. So same is with ISP selling your history! Also now you can see some large worldwide companies offering sort of membership cards where you get some discount on buying in their stores and all this cards are used to track your expenses and to make statistics of what people spending money on, and they also can see what you spending on and what is your interests etc etc... It's kind of annoying to me, but that's something becoming very common in business...



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Webguy2024
Thanks for this post procoder! I never thought about ISP's selling search data. I am sure it is occurring because "Big Data" is big business.

Here is an nasty intrusion into your privacy that most may not even know: Samsung televisions are eavesdropping and capturing what you actually say within your home!

"Samsung's 1,500-word privacy policy, the one most of us don't read, stated: "Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party through your use of Voice Recognition."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/11/opinion/schneier-samsung-tv-listening/



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procoder
You're welcome! And wow...this is something that we should be worried, and i can say that nowadays is hard to get some privacy, especially on internet which is an impossible thing.



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Webguy2024
I forgot to add that many televisions have cameras that also capture what is happening within the confines of your home. (Don't forget about Xbox, that uses recognition devices). This tech does much more than they admit. Read the white papers on this technology and you will will have an uneasy feeling and may want to put tape over the sensors. Some crazy stuff!

This is an old article, 2013 (I am sure it is already implemented).
MIT's 'Kinect of the future' looks through walls with X-ray like vision
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2054300/mits-kinect-of-the-future-looks-through-walls-with-xray-like-vision.html



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Lynne
OMG Webguy2024 this is starting to sounds really scary. Imagine people seeing what is happening in your home... eeekkkk.

Although at this stage I think my kids screaming and running around would make them run for the hills for the next few years. And when they are not here it is very boring, just me working on my laptop.



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procoder
Haha Lynne, i understand what you mean, but there should be a server that collects all the data then analyzes them automatically, so everything it's automated somehow i think.



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Everett
Since I live in the United States, and we have the the constitution I think it would be unlawful for companies to sell our search history to other companies. If it is unlawful for the NSA (National Security Agency) to spy on the American citizens and to collect data maliciously, then would Internet Service Provider companies also be held liable for violating our rights in the same aspect?

I don't mind if companies have my information to sell me ads, because I use ad blockers and block just about every connection to a advertising agency so the ads that I may see are totally irrelevant to things I would actually buy. Furthermore, I have NEVER bought anything that was in an advertisement, and never clicked on an advertisement before because I was interested in purchasing a product that the advertisement was promoting.



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