Privacy advocates slammed AT&T Inc. on Thursday for declaring that it owned its Internet and
video customers' account information and could hand the data
over to law enforcement if needed.
AT&T on Wednesday updated its privacy policy, which came as
the company and other phone operators faced lawsuits claiming
they aided a U.S. government domestic spying program by
inappropriately handing over millions of call records.
"My understanding is that they will be monitoring
television viewing habits, and that it's a condition of service
that customers can't opt out of," said Paul Stephens, policy
analyst at Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
"It's frightening," he said.
In the policy update, which applied to AT&T's more than 7
million Internet and video customers, the company said it could
collect usage information from subscribers, including the Web
pages they view, the programs they record, and the games they
play.
Customers must agree to the terms, which take effect on
Friday, before using AT&T's services. AT&T's previous policy
guidelines did not explicitly say the company owned customer
data.
In its broader privacy guidelines, which apply to all
retail customers including phone clients, AT&T said it had an
obligation to help law enforcement and would act "strictly
within the law and under the most stringent conditions."
AT&T SHARES HOLD STEADY
Although the news riled privacy advocates, it did not have
a big impact on the company's shares. AT&T was down 0.4 percent
at $27.23 in afternoon trade, similar to a 0.3 percent fall in
Verizon Communications Inc..
AT&T, Verizon, BellSouth Corp. and Comcast Corp.
have been named by media reports as having shared
customer information with the National Security Agency.
Some of the companies are also facing class action lawsuits
and are under scrutiny by privacy advocates.
AT&T said it began to review its privacy policy six months
ago, and the update was aimed at clarifying its practice and
did not change how it treats customer information.
But the American Civil Liberties Union said AT&T was trying
to give itself license to do what it wants with client data.
"By secretly providing customer data to the government
outside of any legal channel, AT&T has violated the privacy
expectations of Americans - not just the terms of some
legalistic privacy policy, but their basic expectations for how
private communications will be treated in America," said Barry
Steinhardt, director of the ACLU's Technology and Liberty
Project, in a statement.
Sherwin Siy, staff counsel at the Electronic Privacy
Information Center, said AT&T had likely clarified its policy
to protect itself against further accusations.
"It's not protection for consumers but more a waiver of
their rights," he said.
AT&T was the first major phone company to explicitly state
that it owned customer records since the privacy issue was
first raised in a report by the USA Today in May.
Verizon said it updated its privacy policy in November 2005
and had no imminent plans for change. The company said it must
disclose information to comply with court orders or subpoenas,
and to protect its rights or property.
Comcast said it reviews its policy on an annual basis.
"We do not sell customer information to third parties, and
we do not provide customer information in response to legal and
law enforcement requests without valid legal process, such as a
subpoena or court order," said Comcast spokeswoman Vibha
Agrawal.
Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited
###
