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"People are looking to us now to provide protections for consumers," state Rep. Arthur Turner (D-Chicago). (Photo: barnimages.com/flickr/cc)
The growing backlash to federal rollback of regulations continued this week, as Minnesota and Illinois both made moves to protect internet privacy after Congress voted to let broadband providers sell user data to third parties without permission.
In what the Pioneer Press called a "surprise move" on Wednesday, the Minnesota Senate voted to bar internet service providers (ISPs) from selling customer data without their written consent.
State Sen. Ron Latz with the Democratic Farmer Labor Party (DFL-St.Louis Park) introduced the legislation as an amendment to the Senate's economic development budget bill, saying a vote on internet privacy was urgently needed after Congress overturned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule this week that previously blocked ISPs from sharing information with third parties.
After clearing some procedural hurdles with the help of Sen. Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove), who broke with his party to support the amendment's introduction on the Senate floor rather than going through committee, the bill passed 58-9.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Democratic lawmakers in Illinois considered implementing their own internet privacy rules in response to the congressional vote.
An Illinois House committee endorsed two online privacy measures, including one that would allow users to find out what data internet companies like Google and Facebook have on them and which third parties they've shared it with.
"People are looking to us now to provide protections for consumers," state Rep. Arthur Turner (D-Chicago), who proposed the right-to-know bill, said Thursday, the Associated Press reported.
Ed Yohnka, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois, told the AP that legislation like this was necessary because of the now "razor-thin" line between government and private interests, who can sell data to federal agencies.
"This is a new age and privacy really means a completely different thing," Yohnka said.
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. 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. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
The growing backlash to federal rollback of regulations continued this week, as Minnesota and Illinois both made moves to protect internet privacy after Congress voted to let broadband providers sell user data to third parties without permission.
In what the Pioneer Press called a "surprise move" on Wednesday, the Minnesota Senate voted to bar internet service providers (ISPs) from selling customer data without their written consent.
State Sen. Ron Latz with the Democratic Farmer Labor Party (DFL-St.Louis Park) introduced the legislation as an amendment to the Senate's economic development budget bill, saying a vote on internet privacy was urgently needed after Congress overturned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule this week that previously blocked ISPs from sharing information with third parties.
After clearing some procedural hurdles with the help of Sen. Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove), who broke with his party to support the amendment's introduction on the Senate floor rather than going through committee, the bill passed 58-9.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Democratic lawmakers in Illinois considered implementing their own internet privacy rules in response to the congressional vote.
An Illinois House committee endorsed two online privacy measures, including one that would allow users to find out what data internet companies like Google and Facebook have on them and which third parties they've shared it with.
"People are looking to us now to provide protections for consumers," state Rep. Arthur Turner (D-Chicago), who proposed the right-to-know bill, said Thursday, the Associated Press reported.
Ed Yohnka, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois, told the AP that legislation like this was necessary because of the now "razor-thin" line between government and private interests, who can sell data to federal agencies.
"This is a new age and privacy really means a completely different thing," Yohnka said.
The growing backlash to federal rollback of regulations continued this week, as Minnesota and Illinois both made moves to protect internet privacy after Congress voted to let broadband providers sell user data to third parties without permission.
In what the Pioneer Press called a "surprise move" on Wednesday, the Minnesota Senate voted to bar internet service providers (ISPs) from selling customer data without their written consent.
State Sen. Ron Latz with the Democratic Farmer Labor Party (DFL-St.Louis Park) introduced the legislation as an amendment to the Senate's economic development budget bill, saying a vote on internet privacy was urgently needed after Congress overturned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule this week that previously blocked ISPs from sharing information with third parties.
After clearing some procedural hurdles with the help of Sen. Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove), who broke with his party to support the amendment's introduction on the Senate floor rather than going through committee, the bill passed 58-9.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Democratic lawmakers in Illinois considered implementing their own internet privacy rules in response to the congressional vote.
An Illinois House committee endorsed two online privacy measures, including one that would allow users to find out what data internet companies like Google and Facebook have on them and which third parties they've shared it with.
"People are looking to us now to provide protections for consumers," state Rep. Arthur Turner (D-Chicago), who proposed the right-to-know bill, said Thursday, the Associated Press reported.
Ed Yohnka, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois, told the AP that legislation like this was necessary because of the now "razor-thin" line between government and private interests, who can sell data to federal agencies.
"This is a new age and privacy really means a completely different thing," Yohnka said.