20170327 Senate Votes to Strike Internet Privacy Rules From Obama Era

27.03.2017 Senate Votes to Strike Internet Privacy Rules From Obama Era

Senate Republicans just voted to block internet privacy rules

Trump No. 21: Your browsing history, your geolocation data, app usage, and even your personal health profile could be collected and sold to advertisers or whomever else wants to buy it—unless we can kill this awful idea in the House of Representatives. As Senator Ed Markey said: After this, ISP should stand for "Information sold for profit."

In a party-line 50-48 vote Thursday, senators approved a resolution to undo sweeping privacy rules adopted by the Obama-era Federal Communications Commission. But a big telecom matter found its way into the schedule: privacy rules for Internet service providers. In a party-line 50-48 vote Thursday, senators approved a resolution to undo sweeping privacy rules adopted by the Obama-era Federal Communications Commission. If it becomes law, it would also prevent the FCC from setting similar rules again.

The move means Verizon, Comcast or AT&T can continue tracking and sharing people’s browsing and app activity without permission, and it alarmed consumer advocates and Democratic lawmakers. They warned that broadband providers have the widest look into Americans’ online habits, and that without the rules, the companies would have more power to collect data on people and sell sensitive information.

“These were the strongest online privacy rules to date, and this vote is a huge step backwards in consumer protection writ large,” said Dallas Harris, a policy fellow for the consumer group Public Knowledge. “The rules asked that when things were sensitive, an internet service provider asked permission first before collecting. That’s not a lot to ask.”

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