House of Representatives strikes down Internet privacy rules

[Shawn Knight]

The US House of Representatives on Tuesday voted to overturn a ruling that would have forced Internet service providers to obtain consent before selling your web browsing history to third parties for the purpose of targeted advertising.

Much like the Senate last week, the House this week narrowly voted along partisan lines (215 to 205) to scrap the proposed FCC rules.

The bill is now destined for President Trump’s desk where the White House has already said he strongly supports repealing the FCC rules which haven’t yet gone into effect. In other words, there’s absolutely no reason to think Trump won’t sign it and effectively kill what Deadline describes as one of former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s most hard-fought initiatives.

Current FCC boss Ajit Pai said in a statement that Congress has appropriately passed a resolution to reject privacy regulations designed to benefit one group of favored companies over another group of disfavored companies.

Those against the FCC ruling argue that it would have placed an unfair burden on ISPs while leaving sites like Google and Facebook free to collect and sell user data. Those that supported the ruling, like policy fellow Dallas Harris from privacy advocacy group Public Knowledge, say that without them, there will be no strong federal protection for consumers when it comes to how their ISP can use their information.

Pai said that moving forward, he wants the American people to know that the FCC will work with the FTC to ensure that consumers’ online privacy is protected though a consistent and comprehensive framework. In his opinion, the best way to achieve that result would be to return jurisdiction over broadband providers’ privacy practices to the FTC.

Image courtesy Mark Wilson, Getty Images

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https://www.techspot.com/news/68704-house-representatives-strikes-down-internet-privacy-rules.html

 

[wiyosaya]

We'll see if the FTC develops any teeth. Right now, this sounds like a line from a Dr. Who episode "The Sun Makers" - "Praise the company."

 

[Evernessince]

"Pai said that moving forward, he wants the American people to know that the FCC will work with the FTC to ensure that consumers’ online privacy is protected though a consistent and comprehensive framework."

Same thing the republicans said about health care. Thank god that bill was universally panned. Yeah, I'm sure Pai will get right on protecting customers data now that he's stripped them naked.

 

[dogofwars]

It is not complicate it is just a landing page with the question and a yes or no, the rest is already there since intercepting all this information cost a lot more than not. What a joke!

 

[fadedturbulence]

This is disturbing...

Feels like this was all a setup.

Get everyone to feel like they are free to do anything online and it is somewhat confidential [other than knowing a site was hacked]. Now the protection carpet is being ripped right out from under us with probably 60% of online users not even knowing all that 'used-to-be-safe-data' is now completely open and being sold as you input it on sites.

Like I've read others say, these 215 schmucks that agree "that it would have placed an unfair burden on ISPs while leaving sites like Google and Facebook free to collect and sell user data." are straight morons about the online world (and use terrible uneducated excuses - how in the h*ll did they even get in there??? another day...). Google and facebook are not monopolies; albeit heavily used but are not the only option. They also don't see my damn online bank info, forms filled on various sites, etc.

75% of the country has a monopoly of one ISP or another - not allowing the Americans to choose an ISP that 'does ask your permission for data-mining' over the one that says nothing about it - is where the problem will lie. There will be millions with NO option of changing ISPs (me included - stuck with crapcast) and will what? Just deal with automatic data-mining? No matter what? ARRR!!! what is going on here...this sounds straight disastrous and even scarier that there is no petitions or something to stop this? It's go time now, we all know sTrump will be signing it....

Tell everyone you know, the internet is about to be open seas for all your personal information

 

[Evernessince]

This is disturbing...

Feels like this was all a setup.

Get everyone to feel like they are free to do anything online and it is somewhat confidential [other than knowing a site was hacked]. Now the protection carpet is being ripped right out from under us with probably 60% of online users not even knowing all that 'used-to-be-safe-data' is now completely open and being sold as you input it on sites.

Like I've read others say, these 215 schmucks that agree "that it would have placed an unfair burden on ISPs while leaving sites like Google and Facebook free to collect and sell user data." are straight morons about the online world (and use terrible uneducated excuses - how in the h*ll did they even get in there??? another day...). Google and facebook are not monopolies; albeit heavily used but are not the only option. They also don't see my damn online bank info, forms filled on various sites, etc.

75% of the country has a monopoly of one ISP or another - not allowing the Americans to choose an ISP that 'does ask your permission for data-mining' over the one that says nothing about it - is where the problem will lie. There will be millions with NO option of changing ISPs (me included - stuck with crapcast) and will what? Just deal with automatic data-mining? No matter what? ARRR!!! what is going on here...this sounds straight disastrous and even scarier that there is no petitions or something to stop this? It's go time now, we all know sTrump will be signing it....

Tell everyone you know, the internet is about to be open seas for all your personal information

There were so many campaigns to just get these rules in place by organizations like Free Press. Unfortunately there's only so much we can do to stop the senate / house other than complain. It took 8 years just to get these rules in place, it only took Trump's administration 2 months to destroy them.

People were warned that this was going to be the result of a president who wanted to remove regulations, regardless of their benefits.

 

[Bubbajim]

I really don't understand the American view of "regulations". The vast majority of the time a regulation is added to a system after something in that system has gone wrong, usually with a detrimental effect on the end consumer. This weird line that regulations are killing businesses seems really odd. Regulations are stopping rip-offs, shady business practices and corner-cutting by businesses - do you want to keep afloat businesses that would engage in such practices? Regulations are consumer protection devices. And yet the American public in particular seems hell-bent on handing as much power as possible over to businesses and lobbyists. Do people seriously believe that this is in their best interests?

 

[stewi0001]

The worst part of all, is that I bet none of our bills are going to go down either.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Remember, these regulations had not yet gone into effect... so nothing has actually changed... and the bill that was repealed would only have required your ISP to obtain your consent - which they would have demanded as part of your service agreement anyways. What needs to happen is for internet privacy to once again be regulated by the FTC and for the FTC to be given REAL authority to protect it.

 

[spydercanopus]

Worried? HTTPS. Done.

 

[wiyosaya]

Worried? HTTPS. Done.

Try using that here at TechSpot. Doesn't work. There is no HTTPS here at TechSpot.

 

[wiyosaya]

Remember, these regulations had not yet gone into effect... so nothing has actually changed... and the bill that was repealed would only have required your ISP to obtain your consent - which they would have demanded as part of your service agreement anyways. What needs to happen is for internet privacy to once again be regulated by the FTC and for the FTC to be given REAL authority to protect it.

No, they had not gone into effect yet, but what is disturbing it that the ISPs lobbied their puppets in DC to repeal this before it took effect. Your data is a commodity to them, and you won't get anything back from them being able to sell it.

And, according to this article - https://www.techdirt.com/articles/2...n-to-kill-broadband-privacy-protections.shtml using a VPN is not necessarily an answer because your data eventually pops up on some other ISP where it could also be collected and sold.

There was also an argument that others, google, facebook, and the like, can sell your data freely while ISPs can't. As pointed out at TechPowerUp https://www.techpowerup.com/231953/...tives-confirms-senates-privacy-stance-on-isps the difference is that it is a choice to use google, facebook, and the like meaning you still, ultimately, have control over your data at google, facebook, etc.

If the FTC is given the teeth to enforce privacy rules, then there might still be hope, however, at least as I see it, the current power holders in DC are not consumer friendly.

I really don't understand the American view of "regulations". The vast majority of the time a regulation is added to a system after something in that system has gone wrong, usually with a detrimental effect on the end consumer. This weird line that regulations are killing businesses seems really odd. Regulations are stopping rip-offs, shady business practices and corner-cutting by businesses - do you want to keep afloat businesses that would engage in such practices? Regulations are consumer protection devices. And yet the American public in particular seems hell-bent on handing as much power as possible over to businesses and lobbyists. Do people seriously believe that this is in their best interests?

As the saying goes, you are preaching to the choir - at least when it comes to me, anyway. There are lots of people that do not seem to buy this reasoning, though, perhaps because they have been pumped full of political rhetoric that says "regulations hurt businesses." Yes, sure, regulations hurt businesses when they get caught violating them.

 

[Evernessince]

The worst part of all, is that I bet none of our bills are going to go down either.

Go down? No my good sir, they will not. Any company, left abject of competition, will seek to maximize profits with as little expense as possible. I live in a prior Time Warner Cable service area and since the Warner / Charter merger prices have gone up about $20 / month on cable Internet. Can confirm the same happened in other parts of the state as well.

Try using that here at TechSpot. Doesn't work. There is no HTTPS here at TechSpot.

Well that and HTTPS has been proven exploitable on multiple occasions. Look at it this way, if your ISP sees you on newegg with a new Ryzen CPU and mobo and then you go into HTTPS to complete the transaction, they are obviously going to know what you bought. That's the great part about being an ISP, you can easily find out what people did over "secure" communications by looking at all the context information you have.

 

[JimVZ]

Damned republicans are ruining this country.

 

[wiyosaya]

The worst part of all, is that I bet none of our bills are going to go down either.

Go down? No my good sir, they will not. Any company, left abject of competition, will seek to maximize profits with as little expense as possible. I live in a prior Time Warner Cable service area and since the Warner / Charter merger prices have gone up about $20 / month on cable Internet. Can confirm the same happened in other parts of the state as well.

Try using that here at TechSpot. Doesn't work. There is no HTTPS here at TechSpot.

Well that and HTTPS has been proven exploitable on multiple occasions. Look at it this way, if your ISP sees you on newegg with a new Ryzen CPU and mobo and then you go into HTTPS to complete the transaction, they are obviously going to know what you bought. That's the great part about being an ISP, you can easily find out what people did over "secure" communications by looking at all the context information you have.

You have that right.

About TW/Charter - I am in such an area, and I am a cord-cutter, so I do not subscribe to cable TV; but before that, I was a DishNetwork customer with TW cable internet. I switched to Earthlink as my internet provider, and it is over TW/Charter's cable internet lines. I have not yet seen any increases due to the transition, and every year, when my "special offer" ends, I call Earthlink and they, so far, have continued my special rate. If Earthlink meets your needs, perhaps it would be worth it to "switch." A co-worker also did the same thing after I told him about my experience, and he was successful, too, in getting a lower rate. AFAIK, there is really no difference in speeds, etc., but I am only on the 15 Mbit level which seems to be going to 20 Mbit these days.

 

[Darth Shiv]

Worried? HTTPS. Done.

HTTPS does NOT protect you from them knowing what SERVERS you visit.

HTTPS works like this. You use DNS (hopefully secure) to resolve your website to an IP address. If you use the ISP DNS then already you have told them what server you are visiting. Even if you use an encrypted DNS from a 3rd party, you still need to access the website via IP. That is transmitted unencrypted.

You must use a VPN or similar to avoid the ISP knowing what IP you are requesting.

 

[Evernessince]

You have that right.

About TW/Charter - I am in such an area, and I am a cord-cutter, so I do not subscribe to cable TV; but before that, I was a DishNetwork customer with TW cable internet. I switched to Earthlink as my internet provider, and it is over TW/Charter's cable internet lines. I have not yet seen any increases due to the transition, and every year, when my "special offer" ends, I call Earthlink and they, so far, have continued my special rate. If Earthlink meets your needs, perhaps it would be worth it to "switch." A co-worker also did the same thing after I told him about my experience, and he was successful, too, in getting a lower rate. AFAIK, there is really no difference in speeds, etc., but I am only on the 15 Mbit level which seems to be going to 20 Mbit these days.

Thanks for the tip. Just checked their website and it does appear they have it in my area. I'll have to give them a call tomorrow to confirm but if so could save me some money. Is there anything I should be aware of about their service? If I do switch it's going to be to their 60 Mbps package.

 

[wiyosaya]

Thanks for the tip. Just checked their website and it does appear they have it in my area. I'll have to give them a call tomorrow to confirm but if so could save me some money. Is there anything I should be aware of about their service? If I do switch it's going to be to their 60 Mbps package.

You are welcome.

I really have not found anything to speak of that is a major difference or that I consider as a "gotcha." Basically, your DNS will change and the other usual like e-mail server if you are using Spectrum as an e-mail provider. However, it is, essentially, Spetrum in the background but you'll be on a different node and will be assigned a different IP address.

The last I checked, the 60 Mbit package was not yet in my area, I'll have to check again. However, there is a small local firm rolling out fiber. If they come to my street, I'm dropping Spectrum.

 

[Darius Moon]

Remember, these regulations had not yet gone into effect... so nothing has actually changed... and the bill that was repealed would only have required your ISP to obtain your consent - which they would have demanded as part of your service agreement anyways. What needs to happen is for internet privacy to once again be regulated by the FTC and for the FTC to be given REAL authority to protect it.

Good

Worried? HTTPS. Done.

Not good enough. IsP would still know the difference between game, Netflix, reddit, etc just based on destination ip. (For example)

 

[Squid Surprise]

Worried? HTTPS. Done.

Remember, they can sell ALL of your info.... this goes for your name/address/email etc... which neither HTTPS or VPN can protect you from.... Your ISP has access to all of this simply by selling you their service.

If only there was a law that NO ONE could sell anyone else's private info.... but alas, it's too late for that

 

[DavidGurney]

IAnd yet the American public in particular seems hell-bent on handing as much power as possible over to businesses and lobbyists. Do people seriously believe that this is in their best interests?

The portion of the American public that voted Trump into office is too stupid, lazy, or fearful to face what's being done to them, and that's not just an emotional put-down. It's a fact. And I'm not sure even the most anti-Trump voters realized how much harm this scumbag and his cronies could so so quickly. He's attacking things that aren't even on the national radar, destroying progress that took decades or generations to achieve.

This privacy-rules outrage is another that showcases the corruption and abuse of the "Congressional Review Act," which for some reason makes this step backward PERMANENT.

Every day brings more depressing and appalling news of our country's impending demise to all educated and informed Americans. This goes way beyond 9/11.

 

[cliffordcooley]

The portion of the American public that voted Trump into office is too stupid, lazy, or fearful to face what's being done to them, and that's not just an emotional put-down. It's a fact. And I'm not sure even the most anti-Trump voters realized how much harm this scumbag and his cronies could so so quickly. He's attacking things that aren't even on the national radar, destroying progress that took decades or generations to achieve.

And you have probably been screaming the same **** since election day. Give it a break already. Let us concentrate on the topic, not the sound of your voice.

 

[p51d007]

The portion of the American public that voted Trump into office is too stupid, lazy, or fearful to face what's being done to them, and that's not just an emotional put-down.
.

We won, you lost...GET OVER IT.
There is too much regulation, too much red tape in the USA. Not to mention, these "regulations" haven't gone into effect.
You gave up your "rights" to privacy, the minute you turned on your smartphone, your computer...those "you agree to" agreements that you gloss over? Yep, they mine data. Drive your car? The data in the computer knows your habits. Use your ATM card? Yep, the bank knows your habits. Talk on the phone? They know who you call, WHERE you are. Buy groceries? Yep, they know what you purchased.
People give up data constantly. But, call 911, get in a wreck...they complain if it takes 2.1 minutes for help to arrive.
It's a trade off. Don't like giving up your data? Then stop complaining when "offers" for this or that stop showing up online. Don't like giving up your data? Then get rid of the loyalty points and what not from your favorite retailer. Don't like giving up your data? Then stop complaining when you dial 911 from your cell phone and they have no idea where you are.

 

[dorsai]

Remember, these regulations had not yet gone into effect... so nothing has actually changed... and the bill that was repealed would only have required your ISP to obtain your consent - which they would have demanded as part of your service agreement anyways. What needs to happen is for internet privacy to once again be regulated by the FTC and for the FTC to be given REAL authority to protect it.

Exactly...people are acting like the Congress just took away some essential legal right to privacy...no such thing happened. This was really about FCC over reach and yanking their chain like a dog that wont behave. The FCC never had the legal authority to implement these new rules in the first place and Congress was absolutely right to smack down the 4th arm of government and remind them that regulators are only empowered to do what Congress tells them.

This is a huge victory for America and our Constitution.

 

[dorsai]

The portion of the American public that voted Trump into office is too stupid, lazy, or fearful to face what's being done to them, and that's not just an emotional put-down.
.

We won, you lost...GET OVER IT.
There is too much regulation, too much red tape in the USA. Not to mention, these "regulations" haven't gone into effect.
You gave up your "rights" to privacy, the minute you turned on your smartphone, your computer...those "you agree to" agreements that you gloss over? Yep, they mine data. Drive your car? The data in the computer knows your habits. Use your ATM card? Yep, the bank knows your habits. Talk on the phone? They know who you call, WHERE you are. Buy groceries? Yep, they know what you purchased.
People give up data constantly. But, call 911, get in a wreck...they complain if it takes 2.1 minutes for help to arrive.
It's a trade off. Don't like giving up your data? Then stop complaining when "offers" for this or that stop showing up online. Don't like giving up your data? Then get rid of the loyalty points and what not from your favorite retailer. Don't like giving up your data? Then stop complaining when you dial 911 from your cell phone and they have no idea where you are.

Harsh reply...but I agree in principle. Anyone that thinks they have privacy online in the digital age is fooling themselves. There is NO legal precedent for privacy as soon as you step off your personal property...and that includes the digital world.