House of Representatives strikes down Internet privacy rules

[Evernessince]

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.

So now it's overreach for the Federal Communications commission to regulate communications, huh?

"The FCC never had the legal authority to implement these new rules "

Um, actually they do. They are a common carrier, just the same as the phone companies.

Go and shill your alternate facts elsewhere.

 

[dorsai]

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?

That's not how regulations work in America...a lot of them are from government agencies that do not have the legal authority to implement regulations...and this includes the FCC rule just slapped down by our Congress. ONLY Congress can make law in America...and most Americans are very touchy about un-elected officials like those in the EPA or FCC just arbitrarily deciding to make up rules. Many of these bureaucrats take political positions instead of standing for fair use or citizen rights, like EPA officials that belonging to the Sierra Club and want to ban certain federal land use because the Sierra Club doesn't like it. Add in the fact that other bureaucrats work from ideological political positions that many disagree with...and it's easy to understand why these rules and regulations constantly come under attack from Congress and the WH...and for good reason. It's worth noting that every previous administration, including Obama, has taken the "axe" to rules they don't like.

Anyone on here stating "they are ruining the country" simply doesn't know history or has an ideological position.

 

[dorsai]

So now it's overreach for the Federal Communications commission to regulate communications, huh?

"The FCC never had the legal authority to implement these new rules "

Um, actually they do. They are a common carrier, just the same as the phone companies.

Go and shill your alternate facts elsewhere.

Alternative facts ? Do you always attack people you don't agree with ? Sorry, but I will keep the conversation polite (unlike yourself) and stick to facts...not what my ideology tells me "feels" like truth.

" The telecom industry’s position is that its responsibility regarding your data is already regulated under Section 222 of Title 47 of the U.S. Code (though those regulations have more to do with proprietary networking data than user browsing history). All of which is to say that the hypothetical doomsday scenario — that ISPs will sell your whole browsing history, tied to your name and identity, to whoever wants it, the minute this vote is completed in Congress — will not come to fruition."

http://nymag.com/selectall/2017/03/why-congress-is-dismantling-the-fccs-internet-privacy-rules.html

 

[wiyosaya]

Alternative facts ? Do you always attack people you don't agree with ? Sorry, but I will keep the conversation polite (unlike yourself) and stick to facts...not what my ideology tells me "feels" like truth.

" The telecom industry’s position is that its responsibility regarding your data is already regulated under Section 222 of Title 47 of the U.S. Code (though those regulations have more to do with proprietary networking data than user browsing history). All of which is to say that the hypothetical doomsday scenario — that ISPs will sell your whole browsing history, tied to your name and identity, to whoever wants it, the minute this vote is completed in Congress — will not come to fruition."

http://nymag.com/selectall/2017/03/why-congress-is-dismantling-the-fccs-internet-privacy-rules.html

The telecom industry’s position

This singular statement is where I object to this vote of congress. They can claim anything that they want, but ISPs are notorious for sh!t service because of the monopoly that they have virtually everywhere in the US. I've experienced this first-hand in them slamming my elderly mother onto their phone service, claiming my network was the cause of e-mail problems within their network for which they had an internal trouble report, and other instances, too. Look at the polls about the quality of their customer service, and the picture becomes quite clear that ISPs don't give two hoots about their customers - they only give two hoots about their bottom line. Hell, I was on the line to my ISP to complain about them and they even had the nerve to ask me if I wanted to upgrade my service, in essence, saying we've got more sh!t service for you to buy if you want to.

What I see this statement as saying is "Trust us, internet users! You are in good hands!" when their actions regarding their own customers have in no way indicated that they are worthy of that trust. Give them time, unless there is a law passed (I don't view this as likely in the current political climate) or the FTC gets some teeth (I also don't view this as likely in the current political climate), they will be selling user data because they can.

Not to mention that there have been ISPs caught at redirecting user browser activity to destinations other than where the user intended to go in the first place.

I wish I lived in a world where we all are able to trust ISPs; however, from my point of view, at least, we don't, and this is why we need regulations - like it or not. Regulations cost businesses if they break them.

 

[Evernessince]

Alternative facts ? Do you always attack people you don't agree with ? Sorry, but I will keep the conversation polite (unlike yourself) and stick to facts...not what my ideology tells me "feels" like truth.

" The telecom industry’s position is that its responsibility regarding your data is already regulated under Section 222 of Title 47 of the U.S. Code (though those regulations have more to do with proprietary networking data than user browsing history). All of which is to say that the hypothetical doomsday scenario — that ISPs will sell your whole browsing history, tied to your name and identity, to whoever wants it, the minute this vote is completed in Congress — will not come to fruition."

http://nymag.com/selectall/2017/03/why-congress-is-dismantling-the-fccs-internet-privacy-rules.html

I call out BS when I see it, yes.

"stick to facts"

Like you did when you said ISPs weren't under the FCC's jurisdiction when they clearly are? You mean "you'll stick to alternate facts"

"" The telecom industry’s position is that its responsibility regarding your data is already regulated under Section 222 of Title 47 of the U.S. Code (though those regulations have more to do with proprietary networking data than user browsing history). All of which is to say that the hypothetical doomsday scenario — that ISPs will sell your whole browsing history, tied to your name and identity, to whoever wants it, the minute this vote is completed in Congress — will not come to fruition.""

So you are quoting the broadband industry as your source? What a joke. Here's the Truth, Section 222 of Title 47 only applies to Telecommunications.

"The Broadband Privacy Rules serve to apply Section 222 of Title II of the Communications Act to Broadband ISPs, which requires telecommunications carriers to protect the privacy of their customers' information.[3] The FCC previously reclassified Broadband ISPs as providers of "telecommunications services" rather than "information services" in its 2015 Open Internet Order."

https://www.whitecase.com/publicati...ulations-broadband-internet-service-providers

So no, without the rules that congress just ripped up we cannot apply section 222 of Title 47 to ISPs. Did you completely ignore the whole period before the FCC started going after ISPs? It was the abuse of the ISPs in the first place that got them on the radar. They are able to get the government money for being a title II service without any of the controls like regulated price, customer privacy, ect. Must be nice to take hundreds of millions of tax money from the government and completely ignore your commitment to actually use that money to build your network. Or how about charging content companies again for a fast lane fee? Or how about zero rating your own content to block competitors out of the market? Or how about using customer's equipment to serve your other customers and then charge them for the data (comcast)? I could go on for days.

ISPs selling user data isn't a hypothetical doomsday scenario, it's reality and you are naive if you think it hasn't happened.

 

[DelJo63]

Hoping the ignorants get spammed all to heck - - ie reap what they sow.

 

[wiyosaya]

And here we go...

Verizon mandates pre-installed spyware for all its Android customers

Good luck! According to some sites, the app will have access to all contact info stored on the phone as well as precise location information. https://thenextweb.com/insider/2017/03/31/verizon-pre-install-spyware-data/

 

[wiyosaya]

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.

WOW! What a way to compare apples and pile of steaming sh!t. A 911 call center having access to your GPS location depends only on whether that 911 call center has the proper software installed on THEIR SYSTEM. Please educate yourself before throwing a straw man into a bonfire.

 

[Chilkoot XXIV]

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?

A perfect summation of why we continually get hosed by big business and our puppet government.

 

[dorsai]

ISPs selling user data isn't a hypothetical doomsday scenario, it's reality and you are naive if you think it hasn't happened.

The FCC and Obama, that you're pretending gave two sht's about your privacy or mine, made a power grab from the FTC...it's really that simple. That's what this FCC rule getting overturned was about...Congress just restored the FTC to it's rightful place. BEFORE the power grab by the FCC the FTC had the authority to punish ISP's for violating a customers' privacy. Obama and his ******* FCC chair buddy tried to go around the duly appointed privacy folks at the FTC. If they were such great guys and cared sooo much about privacy then why no rules about Facebook and Google sifting and data mining peoples lives daily ? Because it was never about privacy...it was about changing the landscape of the communications industry so the Democrats (who thought they would still be in power) could slap more corp taxes and user fee's on ISP's...and it wasn't even their first try.

http://blogs.reuters.com/great-deba...ic-utility-brings-a-new-tax-for-the-new-year/

It's laughable to suggest anyone in the Obama government cared about privacy or any other Right...these are same Democrats that OK'd doctors asking little kids if their parents have guns at home and tried to pass laws clamping down on dissenting political voices. Please. This NEW rule from the FCC wasn't even going into effect until December...so literally nothing has changed, despite all the heads exploding around the internet, and people acting like some huge privacy right just changed.

 

[Evernessince]

"The FCC and Obama, that you're pretending gave two sht's about your privacy or mine, made a power grab from the FTC...it's really that simple."

You know what's simple? The separation of powers. That's something that if you knew about you would realize that it is literally impossible for Obama to reign control over the FCC. Heck, the FCC and the president aren't even in the same branch of government. Just like how it's not possible for Trump to order the courts around.

"BEFORE the power grab by the FCC the FTC had the authority to punish ISP's for violating a customers' privacy."

I already pointed out earlier but no, they didn't have the authority. Section 222 of Title II only applies to Telecommunications, which prior to the FCCs rules did not include ISPs. You can go back and follow the link you missed. If the FTC can regulate what you say they can't, point out a few situation where it has happened to effect. Surely you can find some examples.

"it was about changing the landscape of the communications industry so the Democrats (who thought they would still be in power) could slap more corp taxes and user fee's on ISP's"

FYI, ISPs have been collecting government taxes for a LONG time now. The additional regulation fee that was going to go into effect would have been less than 5% of your bill, of which would have been lowered anyways. Remember the railroad monopolies where they would charge certain areas outrageous amounts? There's a reason it's not an issue anymore, government regulation.

"This NEW rule from the FCC wasn't even going into effect until December...so literally nothing has changed, despite all the heads exploding around the internet, and people acting like some huge privacy right just changed."

That's exactly the problem, where have you been that you missed the Plethora of issues that popped up because we aren't protecting customers. The FCC didn't up and decide to regulate for no reason, the issue reared it's head first and then they reacted with a fix. Even the republicans admit that something is wrong, they just don't give us a replacement to fix it or even a time table.