Canada's Bell Telecommunications Company Wants Permission To Gather, Track Customer Data

Bell Canada is asking customers for permission to track everything they do with their home and mobile phones, internet, television, apps or any other services they get through Bell or its affiliates. 'In return, Bell says it will provide advertising and promotions that are more 'tailored' to their needs and preferences,' reports CBC.ca. From the report: 'Tailored marketing means Bell will be able to customize advertising based on participant account information and service usage patterns, similar to the ways that companies like Google and others have been doing for some time,' the company says in recent notices to customers. If given permission, Bell will collect information about its customers' age, gender, billing addresses, and the specific tablet, television or other devices used to access Bell services. It will also collect the 'number of messages sent and received, voice minutes, user data consumption and type of connectivity when downloading or streaming.' 'Bell's marketing partners will not receive the personal information of program participants; we just deliver the offers relevant to the program participants on their behalf,' the company assures customers. Teresa Scassa, who teaches law at the University of Ottawa and holds the Canada Research Chair in Information Law and Policy, says Bell customers who opt into Bell's new program could be giving away commercially valuable personal information with little to no compensation for increased risks to their privacy and security. 'Here's a company that's taking every shred of personal information about me, from all kinds of activities that I engage in, and they're monetizing it. What do I get in return? Better ads? Really? That's it? What about better prices?' Toronto-based consultant Charlie Wilton, whose firm has advised Bell and Rogers in the past, says: 'I mean, in a perfect world, they would give you discounts or they would give you points or things that consumers would more tangibly want, rather than just the elimination of a pain point -- which is what they're offering right now.'

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