CenturyTel and Embarq announced on July 1st the completion of their $11.6 billion merger, which results in a phone company that will serve 7.5 million customers in 33 states. The combined company will now be known as CenturyLink — and the aging copper-based DSL lines it offers to most of its subscribers will certainly act as a link to the previous century for customers of the new entity.

More here: »gigaom.com/2009/07/01/embarq-and···urylink/

If you are wondering why this appears in the Centurytel News Blog it is because Centurytel has contracted with NebuAd just like the ISP, WOW (in the study) has.

Consumers are having their Web browsing intercepted and Web sites are having their computer code altered by NebuAd, a company that provides targeted advertising for Internet Service Providers (ISPs), according to a technical investigation by Free Press and Public Knowledge.

“NebuAd breaks the rules of acceptable behavior on the Internet. It monitors what you do and see on the Internet, it breaks in and changes the contents of your private communications, it keeps track of what you've done, and if you even know that it's happening, it is impossible to opt-out of it.”

More here: »www.freepress.net/node/41740
Report here: »www.freepress.net/files/NebuAd_Report.pdf.

As discussed last week, ISP lawyers apparently think that if they promote the sale of your data as an "enhanced experience," they can skirt privacy laws that require a more comprehensive opt-out system. As has been noted, NebuAD's current opt-out system only keeps you from receiving targeted ads, it doesn't prevent you from having your browsing activity tracked and sold.

More here: »Centurytel Tells Users Their Browsing History's For Sale