Saturday, March 25, 2017

Backwards

Should companies like Comcast be able to sell your internet browsing history without your permission? Most Americans would say “no,” yet the Senate voted to allow just that.

A resolution, passed by a thin margin of 50-48 in the Senate, could overturn rules developed by the Federal Communications Commission last year, which required most internet service providers (ISPs) to get your consent before using and selling your web browsing history and other sensitive data. The resolution also prohibits the FCC from issuing rules that are substantially the same in the future.
  ACLU
The House still has to vote.  Don't pin all your hopes on them.

And in related news...
Broadband industry lobby groups are celebrating a Federal Communications Commission decision to prevent enforcement of a rule intended to protect customers' private data from security breaches.

The data security rule that was scheduled to take effect today [March 2] would have required ISPs and phone companies to take "reasonable" steps to protect customers' information—such as Social Security numbers, financial and health information, and Web browsing data—from theft and data breaches. The FCC issued a stay of the rule yesterday, and Chairman Ajit Pai said he wants to shift authority over data security and privacy entirely to the Federal Trade Commission.

[...]

ISPs and the FCC's Republican members have consistently argued that broadband providers should not face stricter rules than website operators like Google and Facebook, which are regulated separately by the FTC.

[...]

Internet users would be confused by having two different sets of rules for ISPs and website providers, they argued.

  Ars Technica
No they wouldn't, because most users have no idea what the rules are for either. They just log on and drive.  And by now, surely most understand that they really don't have privacy online unless they take their own specific measures to ensure it with complex software programs.
The data security rule that was prevented from taking effect today said that telecommunications providers "must take reasonable measures to protect customer PI [proprietary information] from unauthorized use, disclosure, or access." Instead of requiring specific data security practices, the FCC rule would have let each ISP choose how to protect customer data.
And THAT's the weakness of the rule.
The most well-known portion of the privacy order requires ISPs to get opt-in consent from consumers before sharing Web browsing data and other private information with advertisers and other third parties. The opt-in rule is supposed to take effect December 4, 2017, but doesn't seem likely to survive long enough to be implemented.
And you think we consumers are not already confused?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

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