Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cloud
    • Cloud
    • Mobile

    Verizon Denies Web Request Tokens Intrude on Users’ Online Privacy

    By
    Todd R. Weiss
    -
    October 29, 2014
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      Web Privacy B

      Verizon Wireless began including Unique Identifying Headers (UIDH) in the address information of incoming Internet data requests from Verizon customers about two years ago, and the controversy continues about whether the practice intrudes on user privacy.

      Critics of the practice say that UIDHs can ultimately allow Web servers to build profiles of users when their mobile devices generate the tokens, but Verizon denies that the information can be used to identify an individual user.

      Jacob Hoffman-Andrews, a senior staff technologist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a non-profit privacy group, recently posted a comment on Twitter denouncing the practice. “I don’t know how I missed this: Verizon is rewriting your HTTP requests to insert a permacookie? Terrible,” he posted.

      “The issue is that Verizon is injecting this unique identifying header to all Web browsing their customers do, even to sites unaffiliated with Verizon,” Hoffman-Andrews wrote to eWEEK in response to an email inquiry about his post. “So those sites can track users based on the X-UIDH value. And injecting the header at the network level means that clearing cookies does not work to clear the tracking that sites have applied to you.”

      Adria Tomaszewski, a Verizon Wireless spokeswoman, told eWEEK in an Oct. 28 email reply to an inquiry that the UIDH data has been in use since late 2012 and that the information “accompanies users’ Internet data requests transmitted over our wireless network.”

      The UIDH data is dynamic and changes often on user devices, and can be used to authenticate subscribers as well as help “to associate devices with targeted ad campaigns for the Relevant Mobile Advertising program to the extent a customer has not opted-out of the program,” wrote Tomaszewski.

      “We do not use the UIDH to create customer profiles,” she wrote. “Verizon Wireless does not use the UIDH to track where customers go on the Web. And, information about Web browsing is not part of the relevant mobile advertising program.”

      Customers are free to change their privacy choices and opt out of the Relevant Mobile Advertising program at any time, she wrote. “If/when a customer opts out of Relevant Mobile Advertising via their privacy choices, while they may still see the dynamic identifier, there is NO information associated with the ID and therefore, no ability to use it for advertising purposes.”

      No part of the information that could identify customers personally is shared outside of Verizon, wrote Tomaszewski.

      Verizon was involved in a separate data privacy matter in September, when it was ordered by the FCC to pay a $7.4 million fine for violating the privacy rights of about 2 million new customers by using their personal information to market services to them without first informing them of their right to opt out, according to a recent eWEEK report.

      The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said it was the largest fine ever involving an investigation into privacy issues around the personal information of telephone users, though a relatively small hit for a company that generated $31.5 billion in the second quarter.

      According to the FCC, Verizon did not tell new customers—either through their first invoices or in welcome letters sent to them—how they could opt out of having their personal information used in marketing efforts. Along with the fine, Verizon also agreed to let customers know about their opt-out options in every bill they send out over the next three years.

      Giving customers such information is critical at a time when people are becoming more mobile, according to Travis LeBlanc, acting chief of the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau.

      “In today’s increasingly connected world, it is critical that every phone company honor its duty to inform customers of their privacy choices and then to respect those choices,” LeBlanc said in a statement. “It is plainly unacceptable for any phone company to use its customers’ personal information for thousands of marketing campaigns without even giving them the choice to opt out.”

      Officials for Verizon, which has been battling with the FCC over issues around net neutrality, said in a statement that the problem was the result of an oversight, and stressed that the customers’ information was kept safe.

      Todd R. Weiss
      As a technology journalist covering enterprise IT for more than 15 years, I joined eWEEK.com in September 2014 as the site's senior writer covering all things mobile. I write about smartphones, tablets, laptops, assorted mobile gadgets and services,mobile carriers and much more. I formerly was a staff writer for Computerworld.com from 2000 to 2008 and previously wrote for daily newspapers in eastern Pennsylvania. I'm an avid traveler, motorcyclist, technology lover, cook, reader, tinkerer and mechanic. I drove a yellow taxicab in college and collect toy taxis and taxi business cards from around the world.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×