US cable television companies are facing criticism after plans to share their customers' viewing habits, in order to tempt advertising money through ads that will be more specific to each viewer. This is not a new technique in any way, it is used on the Internet where depending on user searches, websites visited or location, specific ads are shown which are more likely to be relevant to the user.There is a question of privacy rules being breached by Comcast, Time Warner and several other companies who want to go ahead with this plan, especially if one takes into account the fact that Google and Facebook have been criticised on the exact same issue. If the same technique is used by cable television providers they will essentially be sharing subscriber information, an act prohibited by federal law in the US. Nonetheless, the companies planning on using this new wave of advertisement have said that they will adhere to the laws in place.
This targetted advertisement could be a very powerful tool indeed, as cable viewers would only see advertisements that interest them (i.e. National Geographic subscriptions for people that watch nature documentaries), a very tempting perspective for advertisement companies. But is this sharing of information a step too far?
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