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Trump Signs Bill to Roll Back Privacy Rules into Law
Apr 04, 2017
A measure to roll back crucial privacy protections has crossed the finish line, and Internet users are worse off for it.
Despite massive backlash from the American people, Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law a resolution that repeals the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules to protect consumers from privacy invasions by their Internet service providers (ISPs) like Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, and Time Warner Cable.
The rules--which codified and expanded on existing online privacy protections--were passed by the FCC in October of last year and set to go into effect later this year. They would have kept ISPs from selling customers' data and using new invasive ways to track and deliver targeted ads to customers. Additionally, the rules would have required those companies to protect customers' data against hackers.
Tens of thousands of people called on lawmakers to protect those rules, but Republicans in Congress repealed them by narrowly passing a Congressional Review Act resolution.
That measure not only repeals the rules, it also prevents the FCC from writing similar rules in the future, throwing into question how much the FCC can do to police ISPs looking to trade off their customers' privacy for higher profits. Because of the current legal landscape, the FTC can't police ISPs either, leaving customers without a federal agency that can clearly protect them in this space.
We'll continue pushing for these specific privacy protections where we can. We urge state lawmakers and technology providers to look for ways to shore up individual privacy until Congress is ready to listen to the consumers who don't want to trade away their basic privacy rights in order to access the Internet.
We've spoken up, and many lawmakers got the message that privacy is important to their constituents. Thanks to your actions, we've together laid the groundwork to keep fighting for privacy protections.
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 |
Kate Tummarello
Kate Tummarello works on surveillance issues for EFF's Activism Team. Previously, she covered technology policy in Washington, D.C. including writing about privacy, net neutrality, internet governance, and intellectual property.
A measure to roll back crucial privacy protections has crossed the finish line, and Internet users are worse off for it.
Despite massive backlash from the American people, Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law a resolution that repeals the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules to protect consumers from privacy invasions by their Internet service providers (ISPs) like Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, and Time Warner Cable.
The rules--which codified and expanded on existing online privacy protections--were passed by the FCC in October of last year and set to go into effect later this year. They would have kept ISPs from selling customers' data and using new invasive ways to track and deliver targeted ads to customers. Additionally, the rules would have required those companies to protect customers' data against hackers.
Tens of thousands of people called on lawmakers to protect those rules, but Republicans in Congress repealed them by narrowly passing a Congressional Review Act resolution.
That measure not only repeals the rules, it also prevents the FCC from writing similar rules in the future, throwing into question how much the FCC can do to police ISPs looking to trade off their customers' privacy for higher profits. Because of the current legal landscape, the FTC can't police ISPs either, leaving customers without a federal agency that can clearly protect them in this space.
We'll continue pushing for these specific privacy protections where we can. We urge state lawmakers and technology providers to look for ways to shore up individual privacy until Congress is ready to listen to the consumers who don't want to trade away their basic privacy rights in order to access the Internet.
We've spoken up, and many lawmakers got the message that privacy is important to their constituents. Thanks to your actions, we've together laid the groundwork to keep fighting for privacy protections.
Kate Tummarello
Kate Tummarello works on surveillance issues for EFF's Activism Team. Previously, she covered technology policy in Washington, D.C. including writing about privacy, net neutrality, internet governance, and intellectual property.
A measure to roll back crucial privacy protections has crossed the finish line, and Internet users are worse off for it.
Despite massive backlash from the American people, Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law a resolution that repeals the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules to protect consumers from privacy invasions by their Internet service providers (ISPs) like Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, and Time Warner Cable.
The rules--which codified and expanded on existing online privacy protections--were passed by the FCC in October of last year and set to go into effect later this year. They would have kept ISPs from selling customers' data and using new invasive ways to track and deliver targeted ads to customers. Additionally, the rules would have required those companies to protect customers' data against hackers.
Tens of thousands of people called on lawmakers to protect those rules, but Republicans in Congress repealed them by narrowly passing a Congressional Review Act resolution.
That measure not only repeals the rules, it also prevents the FCC from writing similar rules in the future, throwing into question how much the FCC can do to police ISPs looking to trade off their customers' privacy for higher profits. Because of the current legal landscape, the FTC can't police ISPs either, leaving customers without a federal agency that can clearly protect them in this space.
We'll continue pushing for these specific privacy protections where we can. We urge state lawmakers and technology providers to look for ways to shore up individual privacy until Congress is ready to listen to the consumers who don't want to trade away their basic privacy rights in order to access the Internet.
We've spoken up, and many lawmakers got the message that privacy is important to their constituents. Thanks to your actions, we've together laid the groundwork to keep fighting for privacy protections.
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.