WASHINGTON – Coming soon to a television near you: the ability to click on a bathing suit on Baywatch or a cappuccino maker on Friends and purchase it right from home.
But privacy advocates warn that the new technology can also track your every viewing choice – from how often you use the remote to which commercials you skip to how long you linger over that Baywatch episode.
“The public has no idea that the television industry is investing in a host of new technologies designed to transform television into a major data collection tool,” said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy.
Mr. Chester, in conjunction with other privacy advocates, released a report Tuesday explaining how interactive television could affect consumer privacy and recommending new laws and industry self-regulation.
Most television watchers haven’t seen interactive television yet, but a host of companies are pushing hard to bring it to the living room. It could include Web access, video on demand, shopping and targeted advertising based on what’s known about the viewer.
The Carmel Group, a market research firm, estimates that 61.5 million people will use interactive television by the end of 2006.
A trade group for the companies argues that they have learned a lesson from Web companies and will tell consumers about what they collect and how they use it.
“Everyone involved wants to make sure that it’s very clear and easily understandable for the users,” said Ben Isaacson, executive director of the Association for Interactive Media.
A 1984 federal law requires cable providers to tell viewers what information they’re collecting and give consumers the chance to opt out.
But the law doesn’t cover satellite companies or devices such as TiVo or Microsoft’s UltimateTV, which use a phone line to connect with a central network. Earlier this year, TiVo said that it collected detailed information about its subscribers, but the company says that it has stopped the practice.
Mr. Isaacson’s group is trying to keep lawmakers from passing any laws that require a viewer’s permission first.
“We’re trying to make sure that everyone knows that this group is working on this,” Mr. Isaacson said. “We want to give self-regulation as much of an opportunity as possible.”
But Mr. Chester doubted that would be enough: “The problem is simply getting out of hand. … Next it’ll probably be the toaster reporting back about you.”
