My Big Brother the Internet Provider

We’re all familiar with George Orwell’s phrase in 1984 that “Big Brother is watching.” This was suggested recently during discussions on whether or not Congress should vote to continue the Patriot Act. This is the law allowing our government to spy on “the terrorists” – - and, not so openly, on the rest of us. It’s all done under the guise of “terrorism-chatter” monitoring. If this piques your interest, then stay right here, because there’s more.

What you probably didn’t know was that your own Internet provider might also be in on a little secret monitoring of its own. According to tech companies used to collect data, at least 100,000 U.S. customers are tracked this way, and providers have tested it with up to 10 percent of them.

Internet connections are tapped into, much like a phone company listening in on your calls. Every Web site that you visit, every search that you do, and every e-mail that you send may be monitored, while most of us have no idea that our privacy is being invaded. Providers do this by finding out about your personal interests, and then target online pitches toward these interests. Of course, they claim that your privacy is protected, since no personally identifying information is released. It’s all very secretive and quite ingenious, but is it legal ?

More importantly, is it still just Big Brother watching, or is the entire family in on it now?

MARK C. AMBROSE

Attleboro

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