AT&T and Verizon both want to run massive ad-tracking networks to rival Facebook

guest · May 30, 2018

AT&T and Verizon both want to run massive ad-tracking networks to rival Facebook
Tracking everything that happens on your phone
May 30, 2018
https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/30/17410942/att-verizon-facebook-ad-tracking

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson spoke at the Code Conference today, where he took issue with the government’s antitrust lawsuit blocking its purchase of Time Warner. Then he laid out exactly why he wants to buy it: to sell ads to the customers it already tracks.

To sum that up, AT&T’s plan is to use the data it tracks and collects about customers on its networks — including location data and all the media they consume over those networks — to serve targeted ads for high prices against Time Warner content.

This is obviously quite upsetting from a privacy standpoint, but it’s actually a familiar strategy for a major carrier.

Google and Facebook account for nearly 100 percent of digital advertising spending now — but from a privacy standpoint, it’s definitely not ideal. And the rapidly-shrinking number of national carriers in the US might mean that no one really has a choice about being tracked by their mobile carrier at all.
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mirimir · May 30, 2018

Yes, predictable The FCC had planned to require prior consent for ISPs and telecom providers to monetize such private data as browsing history and app usage. Effective about now, as I recall. But the Trump administration blocked those rules, arguing that it would be unfair, because Google and Facebook, for example, aren't restricted. As much as I hate tracking, they have a point. The US ought to have a GDPR

guest · Jun 25, 2018

AT&T buying company that delivers targeted ads based on your Web browsing
Acquisitions will help AT&T combine customer data with a bigger ad platform.
June 25, 2018
https://arstechnica.com/information...ed-ads-based-on-your-web-browsing/?comments=1

AT&T today announced "a definitive agreement to acquire AppNexus," saying that "AT&T is investing to accelerate the growth of its advertising platform and strengthen its leadership in advanced TV advertising."

We asked AT&T if it will monitor its home Internet and mobile broadband customers' Web browsing histories in order to serve targeted ads via AppNexus. We'll update this story if we get a response.

UPDATE: AT&T declined to answer the question, saying, “We operate as two separate companies until we receive standard regulatory approval. Any comments about the companies post-merger would be premature. Customer privacy will remain a fundamental commitment, as always.”
The acquisition price was not announced, but The Wall Street Journal reported that "AT&T is expected to pay around $1.6 billion."
Competing against Google and Facebook
AppNexus's privacy policy says that its platform "select[s] ads for your browser based on your online Web browsing behavior."
[...] AT&T isn't likely to change this to an "opt-in" system, which would give privacy to more Internet users
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AT&T and Verizon both want to run massive ad-tracking networks to rival Facebook

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