Congress is Trying to Roll Back Internet Privacy Protections As You Read This
Congress is Trying to Roll Back Internet Privacy Protections As You Read This
Media Post
Wendy Davis
Privacy advocates and consumer groups this week officially urged the Federal Communications Commission to retain tough new regulations that could limit broadband providers’ ability to use data about their subscribers.
“Before the internet was developed, consumers relied on the law to protect their privacy and the security of their correspondence through the mail, telegram, and telephone. Consumers should not have less privacy and security just because our systems of communication have evolved to include the internet,” Consumers Union and the Consumer Federation of America say in papers filed with the FCC late Monday.
The rules, passed 3-2 last October, require broadband providers to obtain consumers’ opt-in consent before drawing on their Web-surfing history or app usage data for ad targeting.
New FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who dissented from last year’s vote, has indicated that he supports repealing the rules. Pai has already succeeded in staying a portion of the privacy rules that require providers to take reasonable security measures to protect consumers’ data.