Why does Cox Connect collect our email communications?

I would be curious about this too. I doubt your going to get any kind of answer other then a copy/paste answer though. Not like a moderator is going to risk their job. I also doubt the answer is anything Cox would readily admit on a public forum. Its a good question though, just not one Im expecting answered. 

The wording appears when you download the Cox Connect application to watch television on a PC.  It is in the setup program, not on a webpage.  You download the setup program, and at a certain point during setup you must click agreement to the specific privacy policy for the Cox Connect application.  The last line (I believe) of the agreement says that you agree that Cox can collect your "email AND COMMUNICATIONS"  (my emphasis). 

Could this have something to do with it? 

Also, I haven't found the exact agreement, but I did find a picture of it here  That at least gives you the name of the agreement and some of the wording.

Health Edge said:

Could this have something to do with it? 

Also, I haven't found the exact agreement, but I did find a picture of it here  That at least gives you the name of the agreement and some of the wording.

Send the agreement to your local news.  That will force Cox' hand to respond.

Here is the link to the Cox TV Connect for PC & Mac
http://iao.cdn.cox.net/CTVCResidential/upgrade/ctvc.html

When I downloaded the Download for PC (11.53)

The END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT says nothing about Email, the word email is not even in the text.  Where are you seeing what you state.

After install, but before you launch the application for the first time there are several policies you must agree to, however the only statement I saw was:

"Information We Collect

Personally Identifiable Information - In providing our services, we sometimes collect personal information ("Your Information"). Your Information may include name, address, telephone numbers, social security number, driver's license number, premium services you select, demographics, user ID, password, PIN, email addresses and communications records. We maintain information concerning subjects like credit, billing, payment, security deposits, maintenance, repair and services. We may also collect information about your video equipment, computer hardware and software, modems, routers, usage, settings and preferences to aid in customer support."

"Internet Services - Unless addressed to us, we do not read the content of your online communications. We may however, retain and provide such communications if we are legally required to do so. Incoming and outgoing email messages are generally scanned electronically to identify and filter out likely spam and for viruses or related problems that could harm your equipment, the network or other users. For more information, see our Policies at Cox.com"

TEXT in Entirety:

YOUR PRIVACY AS A COX CUSTOMER

Updated 1/1/2013

See your bill for contact information

We have updated this year's privacy notice to cover new Cox services coming your way, including video recommendations for you and our network practices. In keeping with our commitment to be the most trusted provider of communications and entertainment services, our basic privacy policy remains:

We keep only the personal information needed to serve you, treat it as private, use it only for what we offer you, do not sell it to others, work to keep it secure and to destroy it when no longer needed. We will give you clear, prior notice and the right to choose, if a service requires an exception to this promise.

We cannot cover here every situation that affects your personal information, but we have included those we believe are most of interest to you.  We offer updates for you at Cox.com. If you receive your bills electronically, we will send this notice by email. If you would like a written copy, contact us at privacy@cox.com. You can also learn more about your privacy rights through the Federal Trade Commission at http://www.ftc.gov, and the Federal Communications Commission at http://www.fcc.gov.

Information We Collect

Personally Identifiable Information - In providing our services, we sometimes collect personal information ("Your Information"). Your Information may include name, address, telephone numbers, social security number, driver's license number, premium services you select, demographics, user ID, password, PIN, email addresses and communications records. We maintain information concerning subjects like credit, billing, payment, security deposits, maintenance, repair and services. We may also collect information about your video equipment, computer hardware and software, modems, routers, usage, settings and preferences to aid in customer support.

Our policy is to collect only the personal information needed to provide the services we offer or plan to offer with the quality you deserve. We take reasonable precautions to identify you or your authorized representative when contacted about your account. We sometimes ask for personal information for special reasons, such as for research, in surveys or registering at our web sites. If so, we will tell you first how we will use it, and you may choose not to participate. When we offer new services to you, we will tell you what information we need and how we may use it.

Cable Television Services - New cable and Internet technologies allow us to capture information about your video selections. We use this information to make recommendations to you and for other purposes, such as to market to you. We treat this information as confidential and will not use it to identify you to third parties without your consent. You may opt-out of our use of viewing information for recommendations for most devices by using the settings menu on your set-top box or application. To block other individual or household tracking uses, go online to http://www.cox.com/privacyrequest.
We sometimes combine anonymous or aggregate viewing information with additional demographic information and may use or share it with others for programming, marketing, advertising and similar purposes. Some types of cable television services, such as pay-per view, interactive, entertainment-on-demand and some types of devices we offer, may obtain limited personal information in fulfilling the service.

Internet Services - Like most Internet service providers, we automatically collect and store Internet Protocol (IP) addresses (an identifier given to your connection while online), the amount of bandwidth used by your household, Internet connection performance, modem MAC address, and connection dates and times. If you are accessing the Internet through a Wi-Fi connection provided by Cox or its partners outside your home (not your home network), we may also collect the device MAC ID, device type, and session information such as duration and location of the access point used. We may also use available tools to collect and store other usage statistics, such as the amount of bandwidth used by protocols and services, to help us understand how our network is used and to tailor the services we offer.

Application Services - We offer "apps" to customers to access certain services. This privacy policy governs use of such apps. Collection and use of personal information related to such apps may also be detailed in the app terms and conditions.
Telephone Services - In providing telephone services, we receive usage information, including calls made and received and their duration. We treat this information as private and retain it in most jurisdictions for up to eighteen months. We do not share these records with others, unless we receive a lawfully issued request.  We do not listen to or record your calls to third parties. We do monitor certain calls with Cox employees or agents for quality purposes. If you object to this, tell us when you call Customer Care. We keep records of these calls for up to two years and treat the information as private.

Wireless Services - Wireless services sold by us are subject to the terms, conditions and policies of their provider.

Cox Home Security - Home security services offered by Cox are subject to the terms, conditions and policies contained in their services agreement.

Use and Sharing

Personal Information - We consider Your Information confidential, and use it only in providing the services we offer for such things as sales, installation, operations, administration, advertising, marketing, support, development of new services, network management, maintenance, customer care, communications with you, and billing and collection. We may combine Your information with demographic and other information for purposes consistent with this Policy.

Sharing Restrictions - It is our policy not to disclose Your Information to others outside of Cox, our affiliates, vendors and business partners without your prior consent. You can ask us to note your account with a special flag as added assurance of this promise. You can also notify us if you prefer not to receive marketing contacts. Simply go online to http://www.cox.com/privacyrequest.

Aggregate Information - We use and share aggregate information about usage by groups of customers for a variety of purposes. Aggregate information is collected anonymously and does not identify individual customers. We may use this aggregate information along with demographic data from other sources and may share it with others for programming, advertising and similar purposes.

Outside Parties - We sometimes use affiliates, vendors or partners in providing our services and may share Your Information for these purposes. We require these parties to assure at least the level of confidentiality we maintain. We also prohibit them from using Your Information for any other purpose.

Special Exceptions - We reserve the right to disclose Your Information if we have a good faith belief it is necessary to: (1) comply with the law; (2) protect our rights or property or those of others; (3) respond to fraud, abuse or unauthorized reception; (4) enforce our Policies posted on Cox.com; or (5) act in an emergency to protect your safety or that of another. We may also transfer Your Information as a part of a sale or transfer of business operations.

Retention Policy - We retain personal customer information of current and former customers until no longer needed for business, tax or legal purposes.

Telephone Services - If you call to discuss your telephone account, we may ask for your "Cox PIN", found in the top right portion of your bill. If you request, Customer Care can remove your PIN number from your bill to enhance your security. At Cox offices, telephone customers must show a government issued photo ID. If you, or anyone authorized by you, make significant changes to your telephone account, Cox will send you notice to confirm that you made these changes. If you suspect that someone may have made unauthorized changes to your account, contact Customer Care. If we discover any unauthorized access to your account, we will send you notice promptly, in keeping with applicable law.

Our telephone customers can designate their listings as non-published for print or electronic directories or for directory assistance services. We do not publish these directories and are not responsible for their content or accuracy. Because of the complexity of this process and the involvement of others, errors sometimes occur. Our telephone services are subject to tariff or contractual terms that limit our liability in the event of listing errors. For more information on telephone privacy, see the Customer Proprietary Network Information Notice below.

Cable Television Services - When you use an interactive service to participate in or to order a product or service, we will ask for your permission to provide contact information to the appropriate party.  As explained above, we also use set top box viewing information for certain purposes.

Internet Services - Unless addressed to us, we do not read the content of your online communications. We may however, retain and provide such communications if we are legally required to do so. Incoming and outgoing email messages are generally scanned electronically to identify and filter out likely spam and for viruses or related problems that could harm your equipment, the network or other users. For more information, see our Policies at Cox.com.

Internet Security

Taking Proper Precautions - Maintaining the security of your personal computer is an important way to protect your privacy and to help us protect our network and customers. You must follow our Policies posted on Cox.com and maintain your antivirus software, firewall, wireless network security and your operating system to prevent harm and potential theft of data. You should regularly back up your computer to preserve your files, including messages you want to keep, and change your login password regularly. Always be sure whom you are dealing with before clicking on an Internet link or giving personal information. When communications enter the Internet, it is possible for outside parties to access them. Since we cannot control web sites or services operated by third parties, you should review their terms of service and privacy policies. We encourage you to visit our website at Cox.com or the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") at http://www.ftc.gov for tips on protecting yourself.

Cox may take protective action related to your Internet service or contact you to help with security issues we identify. Unsecured Wi-Fi home networks can make customers vulnerable to a number of problems, such as unauthorized persons using their Internet service. We may check for unsecured Wi-Fi networks attached to Cox Internet service and provide instructions on how to secure them. We monitor our network and scan incoming and outgoing email messages to filter out likely spam, harmful messages, viruses, malware, spyware and related risks that could harm your equipment, the network or others. We may also share network traffic data with trusted third parties who work to protect ISPs and the Internet at large from botnets and other dangers.

Spam - Cox tries to block incoming and outgoing spam using a variety of methods. You can help by preventing unauthorized access to your computer. We suggest that you remain up-to-date on ways to combat spam by watching for tips on our website at http://www.cox.net. You can forward unwanted spam to spamreport@cox.net and phishing scams to phishingreport@cox.net to help update our filters. We may use email to send transactional, informational, or relationship messages related to your service. However, we will never ask you to send personal information to us by unsecured email. If you prefer, you may opt-out of marketing messages we may send by notifying us in response to any you may receive.

Cookies and Web Beacons -We and third parties that place ads on our websites may use "cookies" to collect anonymous information about your visit to our website and to manage your preferences while there. A cookie does not give any other personal information about you. It can, however, be read by the website that placed it to note information about your visit, such as your type of browser, operating system and IP address. A cookie also helps to recognize you when you log in as a registered user or as a repeat visitor. You can control the cookies your computer accepts through the settings on your web browser. Doing so, however, may limit the personalization available to you. Web beacons or clear GIFs are a type of computer code sometimes placed by advertisers on a webpage. As with cookies, you can use your browser settings to control web beacons. We use cookies to tailor our site by remembering you and any options you select. We may share non-personal information obtained from cookies with vendors, advertisers and others.

Behavioral or Interest Based Ad Options - Cox and other website owners or advertisers may use special types of cookies or other tools to provide customized ads based on visits to their websites. You can find more information about these tools, including benefits they can provide at http://www.networkadvertising.org. Many companies that collect information for behavioral advertising are members of the Network Advertising Initiative ("NAI"). NAI offers the ability for you to opt-out of the behavioral advertising programs of their members by going to http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp or http://www.aboutads.info/choices. Please note that if you use a different computer, change your web browser, or delete your cookies, you will need to renew your opt-out choices.


Law Enforcement and Legal Requests

Information Disclosure - We regularly receive legal requests for customer information from government and law enforcement personnel. We also receive discovery requests in civil cases. In all such cases, we cooperate by providing the information required by law. Cox does not volunteer customer information or give access to customer communications to law enforcement or others, except in the "Special Exceptions" detailed above or if we have a good faith belief that an emergency involving an immediate danger of death or serious physical injury requires disclosure. Many criminal subpoenas require that we not disclose or notify you of the request. Due to this fact and the volume of requests we receive, we do not assume any duty to notify you of receipt of any legal requests.

Internet Information - Information concerning your Internet access may be subpoenaed by the government or by others. Files shared over "peer-to-peer" services often include your IP Address, and you could be identified in this way if we receive a lawful subpoena. Law enforcement can obtain details about your Internet use and the content of communications through a court order or similar authority.

Telephone Information - Law enforcement must obtain a court order or other similar authority to use a telephone wiretap or a device to capture dialing information. Law enforcement can also subpoena account and call record information.

Cable Television Programming Selections - Records identifying your video programming selections may generally be obtained only under court order, after notice is given to you and you have the opportunity to object in court.


Security of Information

We continue to work on new ways to protect Your Information from data security breaches. For our most sensitive databases, we use encrypted formats within controlled and secure environments that have restricted access. Although we work to ensure the integrity and security of our network and computer systems, we cannot guarantee that our security measures will prevent unauthorized access.

Children's Privacy

Children should always get permission from a parent or guardian before sending personal information over the Internet. The websites provided by Cox are not directed at, or intended for use by, children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly allow anyone under the age of 18 to subscribe to a Cox service that incurs a charge. If you believe your child may have provided us with personal information, you can contact us at the address on your bill and we will delete the information. Information concerning services provided for family use is treated as that of our adult customer, even if used by a child. We encourage adults to assure responsible use by minors. You can find more information about protecting children's privacy by clicking on "Take Charge" on Cox.com or visiting http://www.ftc.gov.

Child Pornography

The law requires us to report any evidence concerning child pornography we learn of. We work closely with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and other groups to eliminate child pornography on the Internet.

Customer Information Access and Enforcement Rights

You may check the accuracy of personal information in your account by contacting a Customer Care representative. You may also personally examine Your Information and advise us of any errors you believe we should correct, upon prior request and at your own cost, during business hours at the Cox office listed on your bill. You can enforce your legal privacy rights concerning our collection, use and sharing of your personally identifiable information. Among your remedies is the right to seek damages under 47 U.S.C. 551.

Other Terms and Changes in Policy

Other terms and conditions affect our service offerings, including the online privacy policies for our websites, service contracts, our Acceptable Use Policy for High Speed Internet service, tariffs and the Terms of Use for our websites. This Policy is incorporated as part of these documents. Changes in our service offerings or the law may cause us to make changes to this and other policies from time to time. We will post any changes at Cox.com, along with the effective date of the changes.


Network Practices

The following describes Cox's network practices as of the date of this disclosure; it may be updated from time to time as Cox's practices change. Cox may take any appropriate measures, whether or not they are described below, in response to extraordinary levels of usage, denial of service attacks, or other exigent circumstances that have a significant effect on our customers' ability to obtain service or Cox's ability to provide service.

Cox is committed to the ongoing management of its network to improve its service offerings, protect customers, and create new services and feature enhancements for its customers. Cox does not use inspection technology to shape or throttle Internet traffic. Cox uses inspection technology to better understand the types of traffic on its network, for growth and capacity planning, for customer service and analysis purposes, and to develop products and services. Additionally, Cox uses inspection technology for security purposes including identification and blocking of botnets, viruses, phishing sites, and malware. Cox uses other measures to ensure the best overall experience for our customers, including, without limitation: rate limiting of email (as set forth in our email policies), email storage limits (including deletion of dormant or unchecked email), rejection or removal of "spam" or otherwise unsolicited bulk email, and data usage allowances. Cox also employs other means to protect customers, children, and its network, including blocking access to child pornography (based upon lists of sites provided by a third party and an international police agency).


Customer Proprietary Network Information

There are special protections for personal information we obtain in providing telephone services to you. That information, when matched to your name, address, or telephone number is known as "Customer Proprietary Network Information" or CPNI. Examples of CPNI include who, when and where you call; where you call from; how much you spend on local and long distance phone calls; the phone services you receive; pricing plans; billing information; and your PIN number, password and other security measures.  Cox does not sell your CPNI information, and your CPNI will not be disclosed to third parties outside of Cox and our affiliates, agents, joint venture partners, and independent contractors, except as required by law. 

By law, we can use your CPNI to offer our communications-related services to you, unless you request otherwise during the 30-day period following receipt of this notice. You can also withdraw the right for us to use your CPNI at http://www.cox.com/privacyrequest. Regardless, we do not share your CPNI with independent contractors, vendors or any joint venture partners for marketing purposes without your prior consent.

When you contact us, we may ask for your consent to use your CPNI in marketing Cox packages. This consent applies only for the duration of the call or Internet session. Restricting our use of your CPNI will not affect your service. If you previously contacted us to approve or restrict our use of your CPNI, we will continue to honor your request and you do not need to contact us again.


Annual Do-Not-Call Registry Notice

To help reduce unwanted telemarketing calls, the FCC offers telephone subscribers the opportunity to register their residential telephone numbers, including wireless numbers, in its national Do Not Call registry. You may register for the list without charge by calling the FTC at 1-888-382-1222 or TYY 1-866-290-4236 from the telephone number you are registering or online at www.donotcall.gov. The FCC/FTC rules contain an "established business relationship" exception that permits a company that has such a relationship with you, like Cox, to call even if your number is registered.

Thank you, Bryan, for responding to my question. I apologize, because I  wrote too quickly and was inaccurate in my post.   Sorry, everyone. 

The wording I recalled and wrote about here came from the general Cox Privacy Policy, which pops up AFTER the Cox Connect program is installed, and when you run it the first time. The wording is as follows:

"In providing our services, we sometimes collect personal information ("Your Information").  Your Information may include name, address, telephone number, premium services you select, demographics, user ID, password, PIN, email addresses and communication records...."

More information is included later in the policy, including the following: 

"Unless addressed to us, we do not read the content of your online communications.  We may, however, retain and provide such communications if we are legally required to do so."

I am sorry that I misunderstood which policy I was reading and mischaracterized it here.  My initial impression, that collection of email was part of the specific Cox Connect privacy agreement, was incorrect. 

I wish that we did not have to worry about the sweeping up of our email communications at all.   Like many Americans, I am very upset about the spying now being carried out by our government on its own citizens in violation of our Fourth Amendment .  I wish that large carriers like Verizon and Cox would stand publicly and  strongly with Americans against the vacuuming of our personal data without the individual warrants required by our Constitution.

Sorry again for my error in this thread.   Please feel free to delete this thread if  you like. 

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