Slashdot Mirror


Senate Votes To Kill FCC's Broadband Privacy Rules (pcworld.com)

The Senate voted 50-48 along party lines Thursday to repeal an Obama-era law that requires internet service providers to obtain permission before tracking what customers look at online and selling that information to other companies. PCWorld adds: The Senate's 50-48 vote Thursday on a resolution of disapproval would roll back Federal Communications Commission rules requiring broadband providers to receive opt-in customer permission to share sensitive personal information, including web-browsing history, geolocation, and financial details with third parties. The FCC approved the regulations just five months ago. Thursday's vote was largely along party lines, with Republicans voting to kill the FCC's privacy rules and Democrats voting to keep them. The Senate's resolution, which now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration, would allow broadband providers to collect and sell a "gold mine of data" about customers, said Senator Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat. Kate Tummarello, writing for EFF: [This] would be a crushing loss for online privacy. ISPs act as gatekeepers to the Internet, giving them incredible access to records of what you do online. They shouldn't be able to profit off of the information about what you search for, read about, purchase, and more without your consent. We can still kill this in the House: call your lawmakers today and tell them to protect your privacy from your ISP.

9 of 404 comments (clear)

  1. This is America. Privacy is dead. by frovingslosh · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The Democrats would be on a lot higher moral ground if they had shown any outrage about the Snowden revelations and what the NSA is doing to Americans during the Obama administration.

    --
    I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
  2. What difference, at this point, does it make? by stolidobserver · · Score: 4, Interesting

    What I'm seeing as the standout piece of information here is that this was only a law for a short time. This means it must have been legal to sell your information all along except for this short period of time. Now that someone has put a spotlight on it, I guess this will create jobs... in the web proxy industry. I detest both parties of government. If they aren't trying to oppress the majority with ridiculous laws they are trying to oppress the majority with a lack of sane laws.

  3. Re:Lots of valuable information... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    VPN recommendations? Any that work for a whole house wireless network?

  4. Re:Again like I said! by WheezyJoe · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Well, lessee. Under Dem administration, FCC restricts ISP use of consumer info, protects privacy. Three months into a GOP administration, party-line vote takes it away so ISP's can sell you out to anyone willing to pay up. Don't need a math book to figure this one out.
    Remember that when the pornpolice break down your door, or sends you a friendly extortion note.

    --
    Take it easy, Charlie, I've got an Angle...
  5. Time to poison the data pool by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What's worse than no data? Poisoned data. A collection of data where you cannot tell which is legit and which is bogus.

    What we need is a tool that simply opens a LOT of connections to a LOT of servers worldwide. No need to hide your browsing in VPN. Hide it in noise.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  6. Re:For the Republican readers by Billly+Gates · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If you lean libertarian, then be libertarian. Switching to Democrat is essentially the polar opposite of libertarian. It makes no sense.

    Libertarians believe in liberal human rights, less wars, seperation of church and state, and less government colluding with big business. Democrats stand for these too.

    Now economically one can argue they agree with Republicans. True. But look at the GOP today? They believe in big government to create monopolies, fight wars for oil companies, restrict trans/gay/womens rights, want creationism taught in the classroom and have altered books in the state of Texas already, etc. Being for limited government only applies to big companies in the GOP.

    The election of Trump showed me ideology and religion matter more than facts or competency. I can't stand by supporting someone who has 7% of the vote and doesn't know where Syria is on a map when I can change an existing party instead.

  7. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  8. Re:Plutocracy by meta-monkey · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Seriously, is there an actual reason for this that isn't corruption or some kind of libertarian ideological nutcasery?

    The Republicans think the FTC should be regulating what businesses sell what information to others, not the FCC. The tail end of the Obama FCC said "naw, we're going to do that instead."

    That's the actual point of contention, but "Republicans gonna tell everybody about your midget porn for cash" is better clicks.

    --
    We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
  9. Re:Plutocracy by DamnOregonian · · Score: 4, Interesting

    No, the Republicans know the FTC doesn't have the legal jurisdiction to rule on this, and are thus claiming that it is the realm of the FTC to rule on. The FCCs jurisdiction by passed law was less contentious, so Obama sent it that way to get the job done, since he knew damn well the Republicans weren't going to clearly empower the FTC to do it, since they are idiologically against the idea of limiting the size of dildo you're allowed to penetrate American consumers with.

    But your story sure sounds so much easier to defend.