Consumer Groups Target Cable Companies For Exploiting Customer Data

Several consumer groups, including the Center for Digital Democracy and the Consumer Federation of America, have filed complaints with both the FTC and the FCC regarding the privacy and data collection practices of cable and satellite companies AT&T, Cablevision and Comcast. A complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission says the companies fail to disclose or get opt-in consent for their routine use and sharing of consumer data, and that constitutes “unfair and deceptive” practice in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act. A petition filed with the Federal Communications Commission says the companies fail to get customer consent before collecting and using consumer data, also in violation of federal law. “Notably, the groups cite AT&T’s aggregation and analysis of data from millions of set-top boxes and its sharing of this data with advertising partners,” write Arent Fox attorneys on the firm’s privacy and security blog. For any company regulated by either the FCC or the FTC, they write, these consumer actions highlight “the importance of keeping track of evolving privacy requirements, particularly those surrounding individual consent and disclosure.”