Internet providers in US say that they are not going to sell their consumers’ internet browsing history

Representational Image : Reuters

Comcast Corp, Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T Inc said Friday they would not sell customers’ individual internet browsing information, days after the US Congress approved legislation reversing Obama administration era internet privacy rules.

The bill would repeal regulations adopted in October by the Federal Communications Commission under former President Barack Obama requiring internet service providers to do more to protect customers’ privacy than websites like Alphabet Inc’s Google or Facebook Inc . The easing of restrictions has sparked growing anger on social media sites.

“We do not sell our broadband customers’ individual web browsing history. We did not do it before the FCC’s rules were adopted, and we have no plans to do so,” said Gerard Lewis, Comcast’s chief privacy officer. He added Comcast is revising its privacy policy to make more clear that “we do not sell our customers’ individual web browsing information to third parties.”

Verizon does not sell personal web browsing histories and has no plans to do so in the future, said spokesman Richard Young. Verizon privacy officer Karen Zacharia said in a blog post Friday the company has two programs that use customer browsing data. One allows marketers to access “de-identified information to determine which customers fit into groups that advertisers are trying to reach” while the other “provides aggregate insights that might be useful for advertisers and other businesses.”

Republicans in Congress Tuesday narrowly passed the repeal of the rules with no Democratic support and over the objections of privacy advocates. The vote was a win for internet providers such as AT&T Inc, Comcast and Verizon. Websites are governed by a less restrictive set of privacy rules. The White House said Wednesday that President Donald Trump plans to sign the repeal of the rules, which had not taken effect.

Under the rules, internet providers would have needed to obtain consumer consent before using precise geolocation, financial information, health information, children’s information and web browsing history for advertising and marketing. Websites do not need the same affirmative consent. Some in Congress suggested providers would begin selling personal data to the highest bidder, while others vowed to raise money to buy browsing histories of Republicans.

AT&T says in its privacy statement it “will not sell your personal information to anyone, for any purpose. Period.” In a blog post Friday, AT&T said it would not change those policies after Trump signs the repeal. Websites and internet service providers do use and sell aggregated customer data to advertisers. Republicans say the rules unfairly would give websites the ability to harvest more data than internet providers.

Trade group USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter said in an op-ed Friday for website Axios that individual “browser history is already being aggregated and sold to advertising networks – by virtually every site you visit on the internet.” This week, 46 Senate Democrats urged Trump not to sign the bill, arguing most Americans “believe that their private information should be just that.”

Reuters

Publish date: April 3, 2017 12:54 pm| Modified date: April 3, 2017 12:55 pm

AT&T and Time Warner deal generates scepticism; calls for ‘close’ scrutiny in Washington

Image Credit: REUTERS

  24 Oct 2016 , 10:45

AT&T Inc’s proposed $85 billion takeover of Time Warner Inc generated scepticism among both Democrats and Republicans on Sunday, making it more likely that regulators will closely scrutinise the effort to create a new telecommunications and media giant. The biggest deal of the year, announced just over two weeks before the Nov. 8 U.S. election, is a gamble on a victory for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and a continuation of the status quo on antitrust and regulatory enforcement.

The Republican candidate Donald Trump, who is trailing Clinton in the polls, has said he would block the takeover. The billionaire businessman has railed against the media’s role in what he has described as a “rigged” election and he believes the acquisition of Time Warner, which owns CNN and Warner Bros, Hollywood’s largest film and television studio, would concentrate too much power in one organisation.

“AT&T, the original and abusive ‘Ma Bell’ telephone monopoly, is now trying to buy Time Warner and thus the wildly anti-Trump CNN. Donald Trump would never approve such a deal because it concentrates too much power in the hands of the too and powerful few,” Trump economic advisor Peter Navarro said in a statement on Sunday. Clinton, who has expressed misgivings about other corporate megamergers, has not yet commented on the takeover.

But Senator Bernie Sanders, Clinton’s former rival for the Democratic party’s nomination, said on Twitter that the administration should “kill” the Time Warner takeover because it would mean higher prices and fewer choices for consumers. Sanders’ comments carry weight because Clinton needs Sanders’ coalition of young and left-leaning voters to propel her to the presidency.

Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon told reporters on Sunday there were “a number of questions and concerns” about the deal “but there’s still a lot of information that needs to come out before any conclusions should be reached.” The Senate subcommittee on antitrust will hold a hearing on the acquisition sometime in

T-Mobile and AT&T to stall exchanges of Samsung Galaxy Note 7, pending investigations

  18 Oct 2016 , 11:31

US telecommunications firm AT&T and German rival T-Mobile announced Sunday they would halt exchanges of recalled Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphones pending investigations into reports of fire-prone batteries.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a recall on September 15 of the Galaxy Note 7, the newest smartphone by Samsung Electronics, and said they could be exchanged for a new version of the Galaxy Note 7 with a battery modified to prevent serious fires and burns.

Since then, there have been reports that the batteries in the new Galaxy Note 7 devices have overheated and been involved in fires.

“Based upon recent customer reports and ongoing investigations by Samsung, AT&T is no longer exchanging customers into new Galaxy Note 7s at this time while we wait for the outcome of the investigations,” AT&T said in a statement.

AT&T said it would still offer customers the option to exchange that device for another Samsung smartphone or other device of their choice.

T-Mobile said that it too was halting the exchanges, as well as sales.

“While Samsung investigates multiple reports of issues, T-Mobile is temporarily suspending all sales of the new Galaxy Note 7 and exchanges for replacement Galaxy Note 7 devices,” the company said in a statement.

AT&T said it had not been selling Galaxy Note 7s since Samsung and the CPSC instructed the company to stop selling Galaxy Note 7 devices purchased before September 15.

Samsung decided on September 2 to halt the sale of the Galaxy Note 7 and

AT&T launches new Fiber brand, will bring fiber internet to 11 more metro areas

AT&T recently announced that 11 new metro areas will be getting options for fiber internet access. The company is on track to reach 45 metros total by the end of 2016.

By Conner Forrest | October 7, 2016, 12:33 PM PST

AT&T will bring its gigabit internet service to 11 more metro areas in the US, the company announced on Tuesday. According to a press release, the expansion is part of a newly-created umbrella brand called AT&T Fiber, which will explore new technologies for internet connectivity.

"Customer demand for high-speed connectivity is exceeding even our high expectations. Today we're also introducing the AT&T Fiber umbrella brand, which lets us bring ultra-fast internet to even more residential and business customers through a mix of the latest network technologies," David Christopher, CMO of the AT&T Entertainment Group, said in the press release.

Under the new AT&T Fiber brand, AT&T GigaPower will be rebranded as AT&T Internet 1000.

Currently, AT&T offers fiber internet service in 29 US metro areas. The additional 11 will bring the total number to 40, but AT&T said in the press release that they are targeting deployment in 45 total metro areas by the end of 2016. They also said they are planning to hit at least 67 in total sometime in the future.


To see what metro areas are available now, and which areas AT&T currently has underway, check out this map. In terms of the recent expansion, AT&T is targeting the following 11 areas:
Florida: Gainesville and Panama City
Georgia: Columbus
Kentucky: Central Kentucky
Louisiana: Lafayette
Mississippi: Biloxi-Gulfport and Northeast Mississippi
North Carolina: Wilmington
Tennessee: Southeastern Tennessee and Knoxville
Texas: Corpus Christi

AT&T said in its press release that it had planned to be in 12.5 million total locations by

How tech can help seniors 'age in place,' save money, and be independent

At the Louisville Innovation Summit, health and tech experts explored how big data, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things are helping older adults stay healthy and independent.

By Hope Reese | October 10, 2016, 11:57 AM PST

Laurie Orlov, principal analyst, aging in place, for Technology Watch, spoke at the Louisville Innovation Summit.


"Aging care is one of the most aggressive industries in innovation," said Keisha Deonarine, economic development manager for the city of Louisville, Kentucky. Deonarine, speaking at the third annual Louisville Innovation Summiton Monday, hit on a key point: The rise of big data, IoT, and AI have enormous implications for the improvement of the US healthcare system.

It's a system ripe for innovation—already this year, $6.5 billion has been invested in digital health startups.

And it's an industry with critical implications for seniors. In the US, there are 46 million people over the age of 65, and 20 million over the age of 75, saidindustry analyst and former CIO, Laurie Orlov. Where do they all live? Almost half (46%) of women over 75, live alone.

So how can we use technology to help those at home live well? It's becoming a "crisis," said Orlov. According to a 2013 AARP report, the caregiver gap is growing, and by 2030, there will be a 4:1 ratio of caregivers to older adults—a drop from today's 7:1 ratio.

And a major obstacle is that the assisted care industry is still private, said Orlov, and many aging Boomers don't have the funds to cover assisted living.



The telehealth market, which Orlov said is "hot, hot, hot," will grow to $1.9 billion by

AT&T targets IoT connectivity with LTE-M network pilot in San Francisco

By Conner Forrest | October 5, 2016, 8:16 AM PST

AT&T recently announced that it would launch its LTE-M network in San Francisco, in hopes of boosting connectivity among Internet of Things devices.

AT&T's new LTE-M network technology trial, announced Wednesday, could enhance connectivity for Internet of Things (IoT) devices. According to a press release from the company, an LTE-M pilot will begin in San Francisco, CA in November, and roll out more broadly in 2017.

In terms of what IoT devices it is targeting, AT&T mentioned many tools commonly associated with smart cities and manufacturing. According to the release, "LTE-M technology will connect a wide variety of IoT solutions such as smart utility meters, asset monitoring, vending machines, alarm systems, fleet, heavy equipment, mHealth and wearables."

AT&T claims that LTE-M will make it cheaper connect IoT devices to the network, will improve coverage inside and underground, and could even boost battery life. According to the press release, battery life could get "up to 10 years for certain enabled IoT devices."

SEE: Big data and IoT matter to 56% of organizations (Tech Pro Research)

For those unfamiliar, LTE-M is short for LTE-MTC (machine-type communications). It is optimized for handling the transfer of data between connected machines or devices, and can be

Reddit user claims iPhone 7 Plus exploded in box

Image: iStockphoto/michalz86

By Conner Forrest | September 30, 2016, 8:42 AM PST


Reddit user kroopthesnoop posted an image on the site that appears to show an iPhone 7 Plus model that exploded in its packaging.

In an effort not to be outdone by rival Samsung, it appears that Apple's iPhones are exploding now as well. A Reddit user named kroopthesnooprecently  posted an image link to the site that appears to show an iPhone 7 Plus, ordered by his or her coworker, that exploded in the package.

The image can be viewed directly here. An updated gallery with more images can be viewed here.

The original Reddit post, titled "Running a little hot," claimed that the coworker who preordered the device received it in its current condition. If this is true, it could