04/03/2017

The Conservative Case Against Trashing Online Privacy Rules

Cable, data companies' interests outweighed consumers' rights

Protecting internet privacy should be a bipartisan issue, right? After all, Americans seem united in their dislike of the phone and cable behemoths that dominate internet service in the U.S.

More importantly, the principle of protecting your personal online data from snooping wouldn’t seem to break down along tidy partisan lines. Democrats want to protect the little guy from exploitation by corporate interests. Republicans believe in individual liberty. And, yet, the decision to revoke Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules that would have stopped internet providers from selling your data without your permission followed party lines almost perfectly. Almost.

No Democrat in either the House or Senate voted for the resolution that repeals FCC rules prohibiting ISPs from selling your browsing history without your opt-in permission. No Senate Republican voted against it. But 15 House Republicans bucked their party to join a unified Democratic caucus to vote against the resolution. Call it online profiles in courage.

Please click here to read the complete article from WIRED.