AT&T Does Not Want to Ask for Permission to Share Your Data

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AT&T, predictably hysterical over the Federal Communication Commission's privacy proposal, claimed in its comments to the FCC that an opt-in system would destroy its ability to “subsidize affordable consumer services by using customer data to engage in profitable first- and third-party marketing.” There are a couple of things to unpack in there.

First, what AT&T is objecting to is having to ask consumers whether they want their data shared. To the extent that what AT&T is offering here is a service to the consumer, they can ask. What AT&T is afraid of is that their consumers will say “no.” So, in essence, AT&T’s complaint is that if consumers were sufficiently aware of what they were doing, they would elect not to let them do it. Second, what does AT&T mean when it says it needs to subsidize broadband, given the AT&T claims it needs data as a way to “subsidize” consumer broadband. That can mean one of two things. The more obvious option is that AT&T doesn’t think you are actually paying enough right now, and so it’s selling your data to make up the difference. Given that it made around $13 billion in net profits in 2015 -- over a 100% increase from its $6 billion of profits in 2014 -- it’s a little hard to believe that AT&T is losing money on its broadband subscribers.


AT&T Does Not Want to Ask for Permission to Share Your Data