It’s no secret to anyone that each and every one of the companies you do business with sells information about you to third parties. Usually, this information is in aggregate, to the tune of Comcast saying “we have 32,767 male subscribers between the ages of 18 and 24 in 17104 who pay their bills on time”. It’s not nice, but it happens so often that we as a society have pretty much tuned it out and learned to deal.

Yesterday, Verizon announced that they will be selling your CPNI to “affiliates, agents, parent companies and their subsidiaries”. Verizon’s CPNI (Customer Proprietary Network Information) includes your call detail; what phone numbers you call, what phone numbers call you, what time you call, how long you spend on the phone with each number, where these numbers are located, and so on. In other words, if you are a Verizon Wireless customer, there is no part of your account that is not for sale.

Verizon Wireless is doing this on an “opt-out” basis. That means that they’ll sell your information unless you explicitly tell them not to. Verizon is attempting to spin this into a pro-consumer move by stating that they “need your permission to sell this information” and that they “will not sell your information to marketers”.  Of course, this is the same company sells “unlimited” data plans with unspoken 4gb limits. Furthermore, they’ve chosen awfully vague language for their notice — an “affiliate” can be anyone. And as far as saying “we won’t sell your information without your permission” goes, they go on to state that your permission is assumed unless you inform them otherwise.  So much for pro-consumer.

The special toll-free number to call to opt out is 800-333-9956. It’s a pretty painless process, but I recommend calling their main customer care number at 800-922-0207 and letting them know your feelings. It would also be a good idea to take an afternoon off, preferably on a Friday, Saturday, or Monday, and visit your local Verizon Wireless corporate retail store. Have a good, long, long talk with the manager on the subject. Point out that requiring an opt-out is almost as bad as selling this information in the first place.

In related news, Sprint is officially launching EVDO revA in Central PA on November 1st.