T-Mobile to begin ad targeting in April
T-Mobile will begin using its customer data for ad targeting, unless (as we’ve done here) individuals change settings to opt-out. This is the opposite of what Apple, Google and others are doing and is even more intrusive than what Verizon (T-Mobile’s parent company) does.
A U.S. Congresswoman proposed a national consumer privacy bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. Saying, it is "better to have a federal law than a patchwork of state laws," Democrat Suzan DelBene introduced The Information Transparency and Personal Data Control Act which would require businesses to get consent before sharing sensitive information, let users opt-out of collection of nonsensitive data, oblige businesses to explain how data is being used, and expand the Federal Trade Commission's authority to enforce the law. It would override stronger state legislation and doesn't allow consumers to sue for violations -- two features the ad industry likes and privacy advocates do not.
The company, which has enjoyed four-fold growth during the pandemic, can rest easy following a California judge’s ruling that violating user privacy rights by sharing personal information with Facebook, Google and LinkedIn — and letting malevolent intruders join meetings (called Zoombombing) — is “mostly” immune under Section 230 of U.S. law.
Just over half of consumers (54%) like to receive personalized messages because they show the consumers are known to the brand, plus they can be time savers. The rest (46%) find it at best unimportant, at worst creepy. Relevance far outstrips personalization when it comes to driving email opens (54% vs. 19%). Takeaway: treat each customer the way they prefer.