U.S. lawmakers query Internet firms on ad targeting

By Peter Kaplan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers are questioning the biggest U.S. Internet companies about whether they track their customers' visits online and use the information to tailor Internet advertisements for them.

Senior members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee wrote to broadband Internet providers and other online companies on Friday, asking whether they have "tailored, or facilitated the tailoring of, Internet advertising based on consumers Internet search, surfing, or other use."

The request comes amid rising scrutiny of the practice, known as deep-packet inspection, or DPI, by lawmakers and consumer advocates.

The letters were sent to more than 30 online companies, including large broadband providers such as Comcast, AT&T and Verizon Communications, as well as search giant Google and Microsoft.

"We are interested in the nature and extent to which you engage in such practices, and the impact it could have on consumer privacy," said the letter from Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell and ranking committee Republican Joe Barton.

Representatives of Comcast, Google and Microsoft had no immediate comment on the letter. A Verizon spokesman said, "Of course we will review the letter and respond." An AT&T spokesman said, "We look forward to responding promptly to the committee's request."

The letter asks where any ad-targeting practices have been used, how many consumers have been subjected to it and whether those people were ever notified about it, among other things.

Concerns about DPI were sharpened earlier this year when cable company Charter Communications disclosed plans for a pilot program, in partnership with an advertising company called NebuAd, to track customers.