Now that both houses of Congress have voted to block Obama-era broadband privacy rules , what does that mean for you? the absence of clear privacy rules means that the companies supplying your internet service — and who can see a great deal of what you do with it — can continue to mine that information for use in their own advertising businesses. And consumer advocates worry that the companies will be an enticing target for hackers. Here’s how that could play out and what it means.
President Donald Trump plans to sign a repeal of Obama-era broadband privacy rules as a bigger fight looms over rules governing the openness of the internet, the White House said on Wednesday. Republicans in Congress on Tuesday narrowly passed the repeal of the privacy rules with no Democratic support and over the strong objections of privacy advocates.
The major ad organizations are continuing to press the FCC to reconsider new privacy rules that prohibit broadband providers from drawing on users’ Web browsing or app usage history for ad targeting, without their opt-in consent.
A collection of 76 progressive groups, including organizations ranging from Public Knowledge to Daily Kos to Consumers Union, have written the FCC’s five commissioners, urging them to move on proposals to regulate leased pay TV set-tops and broadband privacy. The groups also asked the FCC to move forward with its informal investigation of zero-rating policies by ISPs.
