Today, the U.S. Senate voted to use the Congressional Review Act to gut the FCC’s broadband privacy rules that prevent Internet Service Providers like Comcast and Verizon from selling their customer’s personal information to advertisers without permission.
ACLU Legislative Counsel Neema Singh Guliani issued the following statement:
“It is extremely disappointing that the Senate voted today to sacrifice the privacy rights of Americans in the interest of protecting the profits of major internet companies, including Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon. The resolution would undo privacy rules that ensure consumers control how their most sensitive information is used. The House must now stop this resolution from moving forward and stand up for our privacy rights.”
Fight for the Future Campaign Director Evan Greer issued the following statement:
“Today, 50 members of the U.S. Senate voted to sell their constituents most personal information to the highest bidder. They used a blatantly undemocratic Congressional procedure to gut basic protections that prevent Internet Service Providers like Comcast and Verizon from selling their customers personal information to marketers without their permission.”
The controversial measure passed by a narrow margin.
By using the CRA to end many of the FCC broadband privacy rules, Senators voted to allow ISPs to:
- Monitor and sell all your location data, search history, app usage, and browsing habits to advertisers without your permission
- Hijack your search results, redirecting your traffic to paying third parties
- Insert ads into web pages that would otherwise not have them
Please take time to read Five Creepy Things Your ISP Could Do if Congress Repeals the FCC’s Privacy Protection by The EFF.
