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05/02/2024 07:36:05 am

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Four Senators Want Investigation into Verizon Spy 'Supercookies'

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(Photo : Reuters) Verizon's new al-a-carte system might not be the promised treasure we thought.

Four Democratic Senators have asked the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate Verizon's new supercookies feature that allows the company to track users' web browsing habits.

Senators Bill Nelson (D-FL), Edward Markey (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal, (D-CT), and Brian Schatz (D-HI) asked the two agencies to investigate and report any wrongdoings to Congress.

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"This whole supercookie business raises the specter of corporations being able to peek into the habits of Americans without their knowledge or consent," said Nelson in an emailed statement. "That's why I think we need to get to the bottom of this and perhaps new legislation."

Verizon claims it's doing the same thing as Google, but without the terms of service or ability to auto-remove the cookies. Google has similar cookie detection for its targeted advertising, but users can bypass this by not using Google services.

Even if the user contacts Verizon to stop the supercookies, it still installs UIDH code onto the user's smartphone. The only difference is Verizon claims they won't look at the data.

AT&T is also in the line of fire after running a trial version of the supercookies, although the carrier quickly cottoned on to the idea this might come under investigation.

Verizon announced it would make the service optional one day after the four Senators pushed the open letter to the FCC and FTC, but that might not be enough to save the wireless carrier.

The net neutrality debate might force broadband and wireless companies into Title II reclassification, meaning they can't monetize their users or internet companies. This should shut down the supercookies plans by Verizon and AT&T for good.

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