Bell to make targeted ad program ‘opt-in,’ PIAC still fighting it

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre said it will not drop a CRTC complaint against BCE Inc.’s targeted ad program, despite the company’s plans to re-launch the program according to specifications issued by the federal privacy commissioner. In an update to the results of an investigation into Bell’s program posted on its website, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner said Monday Bell had “advised us that it has decided to withdraw its Relevant Ads Program and that it will delete all existing customer profiles related to the program.” Bell spokeswoman Jacqueline Michelis said in an email later that day that the company would be “re-introducing the program based on the opt-in approach as noted earlier.” The privacy commissioner’s office said it now considers the issue, which it began investigating in 2013, resolved, though PIAC executive director John Lawford said in a phone interview Monday that PIAC’s concerns about the program are more wide-ranging than the issues considered by the privacy commissioner. “If they do intend to reintroduce it, then I believe our CRTC application is still worth going through with, and we would keep it alive, if possible,” he said. “We have a separate question, which is whether it’s appropriate for a telecommunications provider to use network information and account information together to do behavioural programming, behavioural tracking. And that is still a live issue at the CRTC, especially if it comes back in any form.” The privacy commissioner said in a press release last week that that while Bell had made a number of concessions to the program, it continued to include customers in the program unless they took the initiative themselves to opt out. The commissioner’s office said in the report that those participating in the program should have to expressly opt-in to participate. Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien said in a release at the time that if Bell did not reconsider, the commissioner’s office was prepared use its authority to address the issue, including potentially going to court. In an emailed statement later that day, Bell spokesman Jason Laszlo said the company would “abide by the privacy commission’s decision, including the opt-in approach.” PIAC, along with the Consumer’s Association of Canada, filed a challenge against Bell’s tracking policy with the CRTC in January 2014. Bell responded that the program does not violate the Telecommunications Act, and organizations such as Google Inc. and Facebook Inc. have more access to personal information. PIAC said in a subsequent filing that such comparisons were absurd given that social networks do not provide telecommunications services and “do not have access to the very sensitive, very detailed information that Bell has.” Lawford said Monday that “Bell’s primary purpose and operations under the Telecommunications Act is to provide network services. And traditionally, the CRTC has been very careful about making sure that telecommunication providers do not use the networking information or confidential customer information … whether it’s account information or network connection information, for any purpose.” “How is that duty of confidentiality going to square, if it does at all, with the role of being an ad provider and profiling their own customers?” CRTC spokeswoman Patricia Valladao said in an email Monday that PIAC’s application “remains open with the commission and therefore the commission will continue with its analysis of the file.” — With reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Derek Abma at dabma@thewirereport.ca

Bell to make targeted ad program ‘opt-in,’ PIAC still fighting it

Broadcast | April 13, 2015

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Bell to make targeted ad program ‘opt-in,’ PIAC still fighting it

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