SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Senate Might Let Internet Companies Sell User Data to 'Highest Bidder'
If measure passes under Congressional Review Act, FCC would be blocked from passing similar privacy protections in the future
Mar 22, 2017
The Senate is set to vote this week whether to let broadband companies sell user information to the highest bidder--overturning rules implemented by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and possibly banning the agency from passing similar restrictions in the future.
| #BroadbandPrivacy Tweets |
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) introduced a resolution earlier this month that would overturn the FCC's rules, passed in October, that block providers such as Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon from selling personal information like web-browsing and app usage history to third-party vendors without users' consent.
Flake introduced the measure under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which gives lawmakers the power to overturn recently-passed agency rules by a simple majority.
Once a rule is repealed through this process, the CRA blocks the agency from passing similar measures unless it is specifically authorized by a new law.
"With this move, Congress is essentially allowing companies like Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon to sell consumers' private information to the highest bidder," the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) legislative counsel Neema Singh Guliani said at the time. "Members of Congress should not bow down to industry pressure. Consumers have a right to control how these companies use their sensitive data."
The ACLU and other rights groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Free Press, as well as a slew of progressive lawmakers, launched a campaign urging senators to reject Flake's legislation.
"If they win, every U.S. internet provider will be monitoring you and selling your online habits to advertisers, without your permission," the digital rights group Fight for the Future wrote on its campaign website, savebroadbandprivacy.org.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) tweeted, "If Republicans are committed to protecting privacy, why are they letting corporations sell our personal information?"
"#BroadbandPrivacy shouldn't be complicated. Our information belongs to us, not Comcast and Verizon," he added.
If the rules are reversed, it would mark the latest blow to internet privacy and freedom in the Trump administration. Under former FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, the agency put a number of landmark regulations into place, including codifying the internet as a public utility and implementing strong protections for net neutrality.
But the new Republican chairman Ajit Pai has already launched an attack on these and other protections--leaving many to fear that he is aiming to dismantle the commission's major recent gains.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
The Senate is set to vote this week whether to let broadband companies sell user information to the highest bidder--overturning rules implemented by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and possibly banning the agency from passing similar restrictions in the future.
| #BroadbandPrivacy Tweets |
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) introduced a resolution earlier this month that would overturn the FCC's rules, passed in October, that block providers such as Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon from selling personal information like web-browsing and app usage history to third-party vendors without users' consent.
Flake introduced the measure under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which gives lawmakers the power to overturn recently-passed agency rules by a simple majority.
Once a rule is repealed through this process, the CRA blocks the agency from passing similar measures unless it is specifically authorized by a new law.
"With this move, Congress is essentially allowing companies like Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon to sell consumers' private information to the highest bidder," the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) legislative counsel Neema Singh Guliani said at the time. "Members of Congress should not bow down to industry pressure. Consumers have a right to control how these companies use their sensitive data."
The ACLU and other rights groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Free Press, as well as a slew of progressive lawmakers, launched a campaign urging senators to reject Flake's legislation.
"If they win, every U.S. internet provider will be monitoring you and selling your online habits to advertisers, without your permission," the digital rights group Fight for the Future wrote on its campaign website, savebroadbandprivacy.org.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) tweeted, "If Republicans are committed to protecting privacy, why are they letting corporations sell our personal information?"
"#BroadbandPrivacy shouldn't be complicated. Our information belongs to us, not Comcast and Verizon," he added.
If the rules are reversed, it would mark the latest blow to internet privacy and freedom in the Trump administration. Under former FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, the agency put a number of landmark regulations into place, including codifying the internet as a public utility and implementing strong protections for net neutrality.
But the new Republican chairman Ajit Pai has already launched an attack on these and other protections--leaving many to fear that he is aiming to dismantle the commission's major recent gains.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
The Senate is set to vote this week whether to let broadband companies sell user information to the highest bidder--overturning rules implemented by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and possibly banning the agency from passing similar restrictions in the future.
| #BroadbandPrivacy Tweets |
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) introduced a resolution earlier this month that would overturn the FCC's rules, passed in October, that block providers such as Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon from selling personal information like web-browsing and app usage history to third-party vendors without users' consent.
Flake introduced the measure under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which gives lawmakers the power to overturn recently-passed agency rules by a simple majority.
Once a rule is repealed through this process, the CRA blocks the agency from passing similar measures unless it is specifically authorized by a new law.
"With this move, Congress is essentially allowing companies like Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon to sell consumers' private information to the highest bidder," the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) legislative counsel Neema Singh Guliani said at the time. "Members of Congress should not bow down to industry pressure. Consumers have a right to control how these companies use their sensitive data."
The ACLU and other rights groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Free Press, as well as a slew of progressive lawmakers, launched a campaign urging senators to reject Flake's legislation.
"If they win, every U.S. internet provider will be monitoring you and selling your online habits to advertisers, without your permission," the digital rights group Fight for the Future wrote on its campaign website, savebroadbandprivacy.org.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) tweeted, "If Republicans are committed to protecting privacy, why are they letting corporations sell our personal information?"
"#BroadbandPrivacy shouldn't be complicated. Our information belongs to us, not Comcast and Verizon," he added.
If the rules are reversed, it would mark the latest blow to internet privacy and freedom in the Trump administration. Under former FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, the agency put a number of landmark regulations into place, including codifying the internet as a public utility and implementing strong protections for net neutrality.
But the new Republican chairman Ajit Pai has already launched an attack on these and other protections--leaving many to fear that he is aiming to dismantle the commission's major recent gains.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.