Verizon calls it tracking, but Florida U.S. Senator Bill Nelson calls it a threat. The congressman and other lawmakers are calling for legislation to ban the telecommunications giant and other companies from using tracking tools to gather data from wireless customers without their permission.
The push comes after reports that a third party advertising company used Verizon’s supercookies—permanent codes that track users’ internet activity--to gather data from wireless customers.
Senator Nelson says tracking Internet activity can be helpful for companies, but only if the tracking is done with the permission of consumers.
Nelson believes the only way to protect consumers is to require companies to give them the choice to opt out of being tracked.
“We’re going to continue to have problems like this whatever the company is because our life is no longer private. We are walking around with a computer in our pocket,” he said in a press conference.
Verizon issued a statement Friday saying it will stop tracking customers without their permission.
AT&T once used the supercookies, but announced in November that it would stop using them.