Comcast, a major cable company in the US, is being sued by a
customer for recording the internet browsing activities of its one
million broadband customers. Steven Goren, a Michigan-based lawyer
is seeking class action status for his client’s claim, according to
reports by Associated Press and MacCentral.
According to Associated Press, Comcast began recording each
customer’s visit to web sites as part of its efforts to find ways
of cutting costs and increasing the speed of the network. Proxy
computers were used to store copies of the most popular web pages
visited, which it identified by monitoring customer use. After
public criticism, it agreed to stop the practice.
Goren argues that the practice, which continued for around 6
weeks, violated the Cable Act of 1984 which prohibits the
collection of cable customers’ personal information without
consent. He is representing Jeffrey Klimas, a Comcast customer. The
claim seeks $100 per day for each day during which the practice
continued or $1,000 per customer, whichever is higher – which, with
all customers becoming involved, could result in a total figure of
around $1 billion.
MacCentral reports that Comcast denies identifying individual
users. Goren rejects this on the basis that an IP address is
personally identifiable information.
