No, Really: Congress Is About To Hand Over Your Personal Browsing Data To Advertisers
GOP lawmakers want to take us back to the Wild West days of the internet when secretly collecting and selling sensitive user data was okay.
GOP lawmakers want to take us back to the Wild West days of the internet when secretly collecting and selling sensitive user data was okay.
We tend to think of the internet as constantly moving forward, but it's likely to take a huge step backward very soon—at least as far as your privacy rights are concerned. The Senate is getting ready to vote on a GOP resolution that would invalidate recently adopted FCC rules that let consumers decide how their data is shared by internet providers. The move would essentially give ISP giants like Comcast and Verizon free rein to collect and sell sensitive data about you without giving you a chance to say no.
The resolution was introduced by Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona early last week, and was signed by 23 cosponsors, not a single Democrat among them. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has since signed on, adding to its momentum in the Senate. Politico reports that McConnell may push the matter to a vote as early as next week. Meanwhile, Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee is warming up a companion bill in the House.