Lawyers Indicate AT&T’s Privacy Policy Overreaches

Michael Santo of RealTechNews writes:

You may recall my earlier stories about AT&T and its new privacy policy, which states “while your Account Information may be personal to you, these records constitute business records that are owned by AT&T.” To many, it’s obvious this is a reaction to the earlier allegations about AT&T’s participation in NSA wiretapping. The story’s definitely not going away, as legal experts now are chiming in, and many believe that the policy is overly broad, unclear, and perhaps even invalid under existing statutes.

Eric Goldman, an assistant professor at Santa Clara University and the director of the school’s High-Technology Law Institute: “It really doesn’t make sense to talk about owning data. You can own it under copyright law, and you can own it under patent law, but oftimes the data talked about in these agreements does not match any of those models.”

Ira Winkler, an independent security consultant: “If there isn’t a big backlash other companies are going to follow suit. This change to the policy allows companies to make money in any way shape or form with your data.”

Finally: Under the federal laws and many state statutes, the privacy policy might not be legal. Federal law already dictates what broadband Internet providers can do with data. [Source for all the above: Security Focus]

We Say: According to Chris Calabrese, counsel for the Technology and Liberty program at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), companies can’t make use of their service contingent on their customers waiving certain rights. In this case, you basically have to agree to give up certain privacy rights to continue to use AT&T’s service.

I’ve already decided to change from DSL to cable modem service, though the reasons are not limited to the privacy policy changes. More here. However, the changes certainly didn’t help (in terms of keeping me from switching).

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