President Trump signs bill repealing FCC's broadband privacy rules

As was the expected outcome, President Trump on Monday signed a bill that effectively erases Internet privacy rules passed by the Federal Communications Commission under the previous administration, The New York Times reports. Now broadband providers and wireless carriers can track and sell a customer's browsing history without first getting permission.

That would not have been the case later this year when the rules were to take effect. Had this bill rescinding those rules not been passed by Congress and signed by President Trump, ISPs would have been bound to an opt-in policy whereby customers would have to give their permission for ISPs to track and share their online data.

Here is a summary of those proposed rules, and what could have been regulatory policy if this bill wasn't passed:

"In adopting these rules the Commission implements the statutory requirement that telecommunications carriers protect the confidentiality of customer proprietary information. The privacy framework in these rules focuses on transparency, choice, and data security, and provides heightened protection for sensitive customer information, consistent with customer expectations. The rules require carriers to provide privacy notices that clearly and accurately inform customers; obtain opt-in or opt-out customer approval to use and share sensitive or non-sensitive customer proprietary information, respectively; take reasonable measures to secure customer proprietary information; provide notification to customers, the Commission, and law enforcement in the event of data breaches that could result in harm; not condition provision of service on the surrender of privacy rights; and provide heightened notice and obtain affirmative consent when offering financial incentives in exchange for the right to use a customer's confidential information. The Commission also revises its current telecommunications privacy rules to harmonize today's privacy rules for all telecommunications carriers, and provides a tailored exemption from these rules for enterprise customers of telecommunications services other than [broadband internet]." 

The bill rescinding the FCC's rules passed without too much trouble because of something called the Congressional Review Act (CRA). This allows Congress to fast-track the repeal of regulations passed by the previous administration by requiring a simple majority vote in the Senate and House of Representatives. In this case, the bill also prevents the FCC from implementing similar rules in the future.

Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) introduced the bill to Congress where it was voted along party lines. It passed in the Senate 50-48 before heading to the House of Representatives where it also passed (215-205, with 15 Republican joining the Democrats to vote against the repeal). The resolution then headed to the White House where President Trump on Monday signed it into law.

ISPs and other proponents of the bill claim the FCC's rules were too broad in scope. They argued that companies like Google and Facebook are not bound by opt-out policies when it comes to selling user data, and therefore ISPs shouldn't be, either.

The flip side to that argument is that Internet users can choose whether or not to use services that share and sell their data. In many cases, they don't have that same luxury when it comes to choosing an ISP.

The former argument won out. If you're concerned about your data being sold without your permission, you might want to think about using a VPN.

Paul Lilly

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).

Latest in Networking
Netgear Nighthawk XR1000
Netgear says certain router owners should 'download the latest firmware as soon as possible' to patch a critical vulnerability
TP-Link AXE75 Wi-Fi 6E router
US congressman calls again for the government to ban Chinese-made TP-Link routers: 'I would not have that in my home'
An illustration of a silhouetted thief in motion running while carrying a stolen fingerprint. This could represent individuality, identity, privacy concerns, or a concept of personal data being in motion or at risk. The combination of the human form with the unique identifier of a fingerprint offers a visual metaphor for themes such as identity theft, digital security, or the trace we leave behind in a digital age. The overall aesthetic is bold and dynamic, fitting for topics of cybersecurity, personal identity, or discussions about the intersection of humanity and technology.
Hackers hijack over 16,000 TP-Link network devices, creating a big ol' botnet that's absolutely slamming Microsoft Azure accounts
Netgear Nighthawk RS300 Wi-Fi 7 router
Netgear Nighthawk RS300 review
TP-Link Archer GE800 router
US lawmakers believe TP-Link networking products come with an 'unusual degree of vulnerabilities' leaving them vulnerable to hackers
A racing car in F1 2022 game with a cartoon explosion overlayed on top
Today I learned F1 cars can have their engines disabled wirelessly via IP connection
Latest in News
An Enshrouded player in a recreation of Erebor from The Lord of the Rings
Kings under the Mountain! 33 Enshrouded players spent 10,000 hours to recreate this iconic location from The Lord of the Rings
A mech awakens.
Mecha Break developer is considering unlocking all mechs following open beta feedback
Lara Croft Unified Art
Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics lays off 17 employees 'to better align our current business needs and the studio's future success'
A long bendy arm stealing money from people in a subway car
'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm
The heroes are attacked by monsters
Pillars of Eternity is getting turn-based combat to mark its 10th anniversary, and that means PC Gamer editors will soon be arguing about combat mechanics again
Image of Ronaldo from Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves trailer
It doesn't really make sense that soccer star Ronaldo is now a Fatal Fury character, but if you follow the money you can see how it happened