Opting Out of Verizon's New Data Sharing Policy
Dan Gillmor is a guest blogger at BoingBoing.
If you're a Verizon Wireless customer and care about your privacy, David Weinberger has news:
A small legalistic pamphlet from Verizon arrived today telling me that I have 45 days to opt out of “agreeing” to let Verizon share Customer Proprietary Network Information, i.e., “information created by virtue of your relationship with Verizon Wireless,” including “services purchased (including specific calls you make and receive,” billing info, technical info and location info. They promise to only share this with “affiliates, agents and parent companies.” It will definitely not be shared with “unrelated third parties” … unless, perhaps that third party pays Verizon to become an affiliate, whatever the heck “affiliate ” means.
There's an opt-out, but it took him some doing to find it, including a call to customer service. And as he says, accurately, "The whole thing sucks."
UPDATE: The BB Gadgets crew has detailed instructions on how to opt out.
Does any other wireless company have this kind of privacy-invading policy?
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We have detailed instructions on how to opt out over at gadgets today: http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/03/08/verizons-nasty-littl.html
Just a bit late to the punch here. http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/03/08/verizons-nasty-littl.html
Seems I was a bit late to the punch as well. :P
Rob, you're away ahead of me! I'll put your instructions in the post.
No problems! Cross-posting features are coming soon to BB :)
I got a similar postcard from AT&T re: my landline a while back, but then, it IS AT&T.
Does any other wireless company have this kind of privacy-invading policy?
Of course they do. They ALL do. You must be new here.
Yeah, it's not at all new. This is becoming a tactic for companies, especially social networks to monetize form off their millions of subscribers. Making the opt in default and the opt out a laborious task ensures a bigger conversions for these guys with a lot of people just too lazy to find a way to deny inclusion to the service.
text messages will be scanned for keywords, and then 'affiliates' will bombard you with keyword-matched spam based on stuff you've typed or been sent.
I'm just guessing.
I remember when my manager got access to the logs of my work-supplied text pager... this was at a time I was involved with a co-worker. It's a horrible feeling to know the boss read "I want to be in you so bad" ...
Thanks BB for the tip.
Do the people you call, or those that call you have to opt out as well? Maybe I'm reading that wrong, but it seems they're sharing your call history with these "affiliates". Sounds like an invasion of a 3rd party's privacy. Maybe I'm just dumb.
Thanks so much for the heads up, and for the instructions on using their website to easily opt out!
Is it wrong of me to want a long, tedious way to opt out though? A way that burns a lot of customer service resources so that Verizon has at least some cost associated with pulling a stunt like this?
I have Fairpoint...this happened to us as well. I got a notice at the end of February saying "If you don't call and opt-out within 33 days, we'll assume you agree with what we're going to do."
To get them to not share your info, you have to call 1-866-750-2764 and tell them.
What I thought was pretty funny was when I called Fairpoint, the recorded voice said "Welcome to the Consumer Proprietary Tracking System"...it kind of scared me for a second that they were tracking my every move. (Like that movie...oh, what was it's name? Where the random voice was telling this guy and this girl what to do?)
Does anyone even care? Please, Verizon - post my entire phone history available on the web for whatever idiots have any interest. Even better, charge said idiots a dollar, and keep it. I care not one whim.
Does anyone even care?
I do, thanks for asking.
And after you opt out of letting them share your private info, does your bill go up $10 a month for the new "Privacy Service" you've therefore requested?