Everybody call their Congresscritter.
Most Americans don’t know that telecoms and internet service providers store the internet history of their users; even more don’t know that recently introduced legislation aims to do away with privacy protections on this high value data. For years, the telecom industry has lobbied the government for the ability to sell your internet history to the highest bidder. On 3/7/17, Senator Jeff Flake and 22 other co-sponsors introduced S.J.Res 34, which would use the Congressional Review Act to strip away privacy protections voted in by the FCC last year and allow telecoms to sell the private internet history which they have on each of their Internet subscribers. One day later, on 3/8/17, Representative Marsha Blackburn introduced the House version of the bill
jtur88
March 14, 2017, 10:47pm
2
I want to see what’s in the bill.
Don’t they already have a right to sell quite a lot of information they have? This could very well be a bill that does nothing more than redefine what they are allowed to sell.
Ennui
March 14, 2017, 11:38pm
3
jtur88:
I want to see what’s in the bill.
Don’t they already have a right to sell quite a lot of information they have? This could very well be a bill that does nothing more than redefine what they are allowed to sell.
The bill is a short enough read:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-joint-resolution/34/text
JOINT RESOLUTION
Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission relating to “Protecting the Privacy of Customers of Broadband and Other Telecommunications Services”.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Congress disapproves the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission relating to “Protecting the Privacy of Customers of Broadband and Other Telecommunications Services” (81 Fed. Reg. 87274 (December 2, 2016)), and such rule shall have no force or effect.
This is the baby they’re throwing out with the bath water:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/12/02/2016-28006/protecting-the-privacy-of-customers-of-broadband-and-other-telecommunications-services
Opt in approval (by the customer), opt out approval, notification of what is being sold and to who. Yea, who cares about that sort of thing? (besides me)
Ars Tech’s article on grateful the advertising industry is to the Republicans responsible for overturning the current privacy standards.
Six advertising industry trade groups yesterday thanked Republican lawmakers for introducing legislation that would overturn rules that protect the privacy of Internet users. If the rules are overturned, advertisers would not be prevented from buying consumers’ Web browsing history from Internet service providers.
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) last week introduced Congressional Review Act resolutions that would overturn the Federal Communications Commission’s privacy rules for Internet service providers and prevent the FCC from issuing similar regulations in the future.
“We wholeheartedly commend Senator Flake and Congressman Blackburn, and their Senate and House colleagues, for introducing resolutions of disapproval for the FCC’s ill-considered move to create a new, costly, counterproductive, confusing and unnecessary regulatory regime around privacy for broadband providers,” ad industry lobby and trade groups said in a statement issued by the American Association of Advertising Agencies, American Advertising Federation, Association of National Advertisers, Data & Marketing Association, Interactive Advertising Bureau, and Network Advertising Initiative.
If the FCC rules are eliminated, ISPs would not have to get consumers’ explicit consent before selling or sharing Web browsing data and other private information with advertisers and other third parties. The FCC issued the rules when it was led by a Democratic majority last year.
Remember, gang! There’s no difference between the two political parties, so you should always vote Republican!