Much attention has been paid to the pervasive surveillance consumers face from social media companies, but a recent study from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) suggests that internet providers may know just as much, if not more, about their users. Differing from social media platforms and most other websites, internet service providers (ISPs) provide access to the infrastructure powering the internet. As such, ISPs have access to all unencrypted internet traffic taking place over their networks. Because ISPs own and operate internet infrastructure, there is little consumers can do to prevent them from collecting personal data, according to an Oct. 21 FTC report. “Unlike many other entities, these ISPs have access to each of the websites a consumer visits, and they can target based on subscriber information,” the FTC report said, using the analogy of how recipients of mail can’t hide their address from a letter carrier. “Notably, unlike traditional ad …