Three powerful U.S. congressmen have questioned a Kansas Internet service provider"s apparent decision to test a controversial behavioral advertising service that tracks users" Web activities, without notifying its customers of the test. Representatives John Dingell, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee; Edward Markey, chairman of the committee"s Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet; and Joe Barton, the ranking Republican on the full committee, sent a letter to Embarq CEO Tom Gerke earlier this week.
Dingell, a Michigan Democrat; Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat; and Barton, a Texas Republican, raised concerns that Embarq has tested a targeted advertising service from NebuAd, an online ad company that has drawn repeated criticism from privacy advocates. NebuAd"s targeted ad system tracks user behavior in order to deliver more relevant ads, and allows ISPs (Internet service providers) to profit from online advertising, but some privacy groups have accused the company of illegally wiretapping ISP subscribers" connections and of using common Internet attacks to deliver its service.