Levying Extra Charges
AT&T®, which is one of the best internet providers in the country, is considering the option of Levying Extra Charges for broadband customers that require privacy protection. Previously, the carrier has initiated such a measure in charging customers for opting out of the Internet Preferences program. It has led to heavy criticism against AT&T® since it involved deep packet inspection that allowed them to track and collect valuable user data for monetary purposes. Moreover, AT&T® has secured the regulatory approval of its merger of Time Warner® with expectations that it will be approved by the Trump Administration.
AT&T® Senior Vice President, Bob Quinn has stated that the company will likely bring back the policy of additional charges for the customers who wish to opt out of its data collection services. He also acknowledged the case of the backlash that had gathered over its roll out of ad-supported internet service in Austin, Texas. For the service, AT&T® had charged $70 per month that also comes with permissions for the company to collect and share user data freely.
An extra $29 fee was levied along with the $70 monthly payment from those wishing to opt out of the data collection practices. The service has since then extended to several locations in the country with the premium privacy charges bundled with the monthly fee. It however, has only excluded the usage of the browsing history of users for targeted advertising.
Internet Preferences Program
Quinn said, “Privacy advocates screamed about that but argued consumers wanted more control over the pricing model of their interest service. We were giving people a choice, you could make a choice on that. As the privacy revolution evolves, I think people are going to want more control, and maybe that’s the pricing model that ultimately is what consumers want.”
AT&T®, along with other major telecom providers, has lobbied extensively for repealing the privacy rule by FCC. It had required the internet providers to obtain the required permission from the customers before collecting any user data. The rules have then revoked by the Congress as a result of the lobbying efforts.
The AT&T® chief also accepted the growing privacy demand seen among the internet users. He admitted that the new extra privacy charges were seen among customers as an additional facility available at a specific fee rather than a key feature of the service.
