SNOOP NO MORE

Web-tracking ban

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday drove a stake through the heart of the $77 billion online ad business, barring Comcast, Verizon and other internet service providers from automatically tracking consumers while they surf the Web.

The regulator, in a 3-to-2 landmark vote that increased internet privacy, ruled consumers have to give their OK before their online search history and other sensitive information is tracked and sold to advertisers. The new rule takes effect immediately.

The move threatens socalled targeted advertising, which is one of the main strategic benefits given by AT&T for acquiring Time Warner.

The change also frustrates Verizon’s efforts to dominate the mobile ad arena via its AOL unit and its planned acquisition of Yahoo.

ISPs currently collect reams of consumer data on every Web surfer — from the internet sites they visit to the places they travel to — and even gain a glimpse into every person’s health based on the searches undertaken and the apps used.

This info is then packaged and shared with advertisers to help tailor ads to people based on their interests.

Now, the FCC insists users must give their permission for such companies to collect and share this data.

“Addressable advertising plays a starring role in both AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner and Verizon’s acquisition of Yahoo,” Craig Moffett, senior analyst at MoffettNathanson, told The Post. “The FCC’s new rules put AT&T and Verizon at a big disadvantage to Google in targeting those ads.”

Facebook and Google, which pockets 80 percent of online ad dollars, are not affected by the new rule.

First, they are not regulated by the FCC, and second, users must sign in — a process that contains an opt-in clause.

That gives them a huge advantage over phone and cable companies, according to Brian Wieser of Pivotal.

While consumer groups and privacy advocates cheered the new rule, the Interactive Ad Bureau attacked the move.

“Today, the FCC took an unfortunate step toward destabilizing the ad-supported internet economy,” executive vice president Dave Grimaldi said.

EMarketer predicts that digital advertising will rise to $77 billion next year, overtaking TV ad spending.

Rahul Telang, a professor of information technology at Carnegie Mellon University, told The Post he expects few people will opt in and allow themselves to be tracked.

“The rationale of AT&T and Time Warner [in pursuing the deal] was that it was going to lead to personalized TV advertising,” he said. “If the ISPs are not able to do that profiling, some of those plans are in serious jeopardy.”