This past week, President Trump quietly signed a Congressional resolution that nullified an FCC rule that would have been critical to ensuring internet privacy protections for millions of Americans online. The resolution, S.J. Res. 34, rescinded the FCC rule requiring internet service providers to obtain consumer’s permission before selling their private internet browsing history, financial and medical records, and even their location data.
I was appalled to see these privacy protections reversed, and I strongly opposed S.J. Res. 43 for several reasons.
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First, it increases the risk of a massive infringement on American’s privacy. With the FCC rule repealed, your internet service provider would be able to track every website you visit on the internet and every bit of data collected via apps on your phone and could sell it to the highest bidder without your knowledge or permission. Much of this information is incredibly personal.
Take geolocation information for example. If you or your kids have an app on their phone which tracks their location, which the majority of apps use nowadays, there is now nothing to stop your internet service provider from selling the information. The ability to sell browser history is no better. There’s nothing stopping companies from buying the browsing history of the people to which they’re targeting advertisements. Every website you’ve used to apply for a loan online, or check your credit score is now information that a company can obtain about you and your family. This would be a massive invasion of privacy. There are internet service providers who have made strong pledges not to sell this information, and that is laudable. But for something this serious, we need commonsense rules to protect consumer privacy.
The second reason I oppose the gutting of broadband privacy protections is because it would make Americans more vulnerable to hacking. As someone who has first-hand experience as a computer programmer, I know that keeping privacy protections in place is essential for safeguarding sensitive data from hackers. However, it doesn’t take a computer programmer to know that the more companies and people who have access to your private information, the more susceptible it is to theft.
The repeal of the FCC rule also unfairly discriminates against people who are unable to pick and choose their internet service providers. This places Americans living in rural areas at a disadvantage, forcing them to potentially choose whether to sign over their privacy rights or disconnect entirely.
To add to it all, S.J. Res 34 not only repeals these protections, but also prevents the FCC from proposing similar regulatory protections in the future.
It’s for those reasons that I introduced the Restoring American Privacy Act of 2017 this week which would reverse S.J. Res. 34 and allow the FCC to go forward with implementing its privacy rule.
The American people have made their voices heard. They want their private information to be kept private, and members of Congress have an obligation to address the protectionary void created by S.J. Res 34. The FCC was the only regulatory agency that could provide the necessary oversight. Congress now has two options: to pass my bill and reverse S.J. Res 34 and allow the FCC to implement privacy protections, or to pass new legislation to regulate the industry by statute. I will work on both options because it is unacceptable to have a void where there are no rules of the road and few statutory protections for the American people. I intend to work across the aisle to address my constituents’, and the American people’s legitimate concerns over their right to privacy.
Rosen represents Nevada’s 3rd District.
The views expressed by this author are their own and are not the views of The Hill.
