Editorial: Somebody's watching your clicks

IN THE early days of the internet, the companies that provided people with access – the internet service providers, or ISPs – acted much like a postal service or telephone company. They provided the communication infrastructure, but what you did with it remained your business. We like to think they still act that way, but lately the reality has changed. Some ISPs have started gathering data about their customers’ browsing patterns – the kind of websites they visit – and selling it to advertisers who then use it to decide which ads particular users get to see (see “Gathering privacy storm as ISPs sell web clicks to advertisers”)…