The House of Representatives today voted to overturn the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) broadband privacy rules designed to keep ISPs from tracking and selling consumers’ web browsing history without permission.
House Joint Resolution 86, designed to repeal Obama-era FCC rules that require internet service providers (ISP) to get customers’ permission before sharing their browsing history with other firms, passed by the Senate last week. Now the bill goes to President Trump, who is expected to sign it, according to a report from The Verge.
Commenting on the passage of the bill, Representative Anna Eshoo (D-CA) said that “the consequences of passing this resolution are clear.
“Broadband providers like AT&T, Comcast, and others will be able to sell your personal information to the highest bidder without your permission,” Eshoo added. “And no one will be able to protect you, not even the Federal Trade Commission that our friends on the other side of the aisle keep talking about.”
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement that Obama-era FCC rules were “designed to benefit one group of favored companies over another group of disfavored companies.
“Moving forward, I want the American people to know that the FCC will work with the FTC to ensure that consumers’ online privacy is protected through a consistent and comprehensive framework. In my view, the best way to achieve that result would be to return jurisdiction over broadband providers’ privacy practices to the FTC, with its decades of experience and expertise in this area,” Pai added.
In a statement, ACLU Legislative Counsel Neema Singh Guliani said it is disappointing to see Congress decided “to sacrifice the privacy rights of Americans in the interest of protecting the profits of major internet companies, including Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon.”
“The resolution would undo privacy rules that ensure consumers control how their most sensitive information is used. The House must now stop this resolution from moving forward and stand up for our privacy rights,” Guliani said.
People are criticizing the move over social media. In addition, small internet providers and networking companies are opposing Congress’s move to abolish privacy protections.
In a letter to Congress, 17 small ISPs said: “If the rules are repealed, large ISPs across America would resume spying on their customers, selling their data, and denying them a practical and informed choice in the matter.”