AT&T executives believed that merging with content giant Time Warner, Inc. would give it leverage to compete against streaming video services. The deal was two years in the making and was hanging by a thread, waiting for a federal judge to rule on the legality.

The $85 billion deal was approved this week. The two companies will reach customers directly with a powerful content library to become a digital-entertainment powerhouse. With an equal standing to Netflix and Amazon, the companies will join the battle for a consumer’s time and attention.

The new currency for winning consumers is big data. Consumers can expect privacy regulations concerning their online habits to erode post-merger. The AT&T Time Warner merger accelerates the accumulation of data. You can expect the company to adjust products, pricing, and advertising to maximize profits.

Customers expect access to everything, from anywhere

AT&T controlled a huge share of the communications infrastructure but needed Time Warner’s extensive content library to control the market vertically and maximize the data it can gather. The merger allows the new company to control the satellites, phone lines, data transferred over the phone lines, and everything in between. The content completes the path from the company to the consumer and gives them control over tons of valuable consumer data.

The data holds the key to unlocking advanced advertising technology and is a key feature of the acquisition. In my opinion, the coming mega-mergers of companies combined with the demise of net neutrality will lead to situations like the recent Facebook data scandal becoming commonplace.

It’s all about the data

Direct-to-consumer distribution is a more compelling proposition with the repeal of net neutrality. The newly merged companies will track and collect customer, viewer, and geographic information as it pumps out Time Warner’s collection of movies and shows. The complete picture of everything a consumer does is available. Tracking what they watch, on which platform, in which location-all of it becomes big data. Compiled, parsed, and sold off, the data is the most valuable asset of the acquisition.

The lapse of net neutrality enhances what is tracked, how it is used and raises the value of data collection. The consumer data gathered will be used to expand the business.

The data is used to determine new content production, based on what is successful and how it performs. Data will be gathered to support and sell highly targeted advertising, like the kind that Google currently offers, because targeted ads are 3-5 times more profitable than traditional TV ads.

Open wide

The demise of net neutrality protections makes it easier for Internet providers, such as AT&T, to collect and sell information browsing history and app usage. The only thing stopping your neighbor from going to an ISP and buying your browsing history is the privacy policy in place. If providers relax their policies or incent consumers with free premium content for relaxing it, they could share enough information about you to make your identity discoverable.

It could be that behemoths like AT&T Time Warner have an unfair business advantage over competitors due to the sweeping nature of the assets they own. It’s possible that a state attorney general could sue if the data practices are deemed unfair to other businesses, but unlikely.

There are ways for consumers to limit the data gathered, like using a VPN. It will hide your true location and encrypt your Internet traffic so that your browser history can’t be gathered, but typically comes at the cost of slower transmission speeds. Also, sites like Netflix don’t allow the use of VPNs because it violates their licensing rights to show certain content. A VPN can’t bypass any activity logging software installed by your ISP, so you can still expect a loss of privacy.

New product offerings leverage the data gathered

AT&T was losing money on DirecTV while waiting for the merger deal to close. The satellite content platform is making plans to transform itself into an internet-based premium streaming video with a higher price tag. Estimates are that the new internet delivered version will cost $80-$90 per month. Moving DirecTV to the Internet expands the data gathering capabilities and allows development of targeted advertising.

The newly merged company announced WatchTV is the latest product offering. The low-cost skinny streaming service will cost $15 per month. The service features the TV channels newly acquired from Time Warner, like CNN, TBS, and TNT. The service also includes content from BC World News and Food Network, as well as 15,000 TV shows and movies on demand. Typical for skinny bundles, the service excludes sports coverage to appeal to cost-conscious viewers. Reports are this service would be included without cost for AT&T unlimited plan wireless subscribers immediately with a standalone product launch planned soon.

More 4K programming

Taking advantage of the data acquisition, expect the merger to lead to more content produced and shot in 4K video. The format, also known as Ultra high-definition, has been hindered so far by the lack of hardware that can support the higher resolution. After the merger, the company can order more production of 4K TV to push the expansion of the standard. Since streaming 4k video requires more data than standard definition or HD video, this will lead to more data usage and revenue.

Be an informed consumer

Lest you think there are no consumer advantages to data being used to target you, AT&T recently explained how data collection could benefit consumers. One product pitch was a news roundup formatted specially for your geographic location. By tracking the location of your phone, your news would be micro-targeted to relevant topics.

It seems we constantly run a fine line between giving up enough information to make things convenient without completely doing away with the expectation of privacy. Without the FCC looking out for consumers, it’s going to be up to each individual to judge how valuable their privacy is and determine if they’re willing to pay for it. ISP’s will use everything they’ve got to pay you to give it up to maximize profits. It’s just another example of an age-old wisdom for buyers: caveat emptor.