Democrats press Verizon on tracking 'supercookies'

Senate Democrats on the Commerce Committee are investigating Verizon's use of an advertising tool that critics worry can track subscribers and be exploited by third parties.

Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL) said that he and a number of colleagues are drafting a letter to Verizon to raise questions about the company's use of "supercookies" to track users and how the phone giant plans to protect consumer privacy. "Our staff on the Commerce Committee will be investigating this, and we certainly want to make sure that in this time of ubiquity of eyes prying all around in this electronic age that we are living, that we preserve the rights of privacy for all individuals," Ranking Member Nelson said. Ranking Member Nelson is working with Sens Ed Markey (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) on the letter.