S.J.Res. 34 – Congressional Disapproval of FCC Rule on Broadband Privacy: NO

S.J.Res. 34 – Congressional Disapproval of FCC Rule on Broadband Privacy: NO

Broadband Internet Service Providers (usually your cable or telephone company) typically require customers to agree to share private information such as their browsing and search histories and downloads, as a condition of getting access to the Internet -- information which the ISP then sells to various vendors. The FCC promulgated a rule that requires the ISP to give you a choice of whether you want this information shared with third parties. This resolution rescinds that rule. This is a fundamental privacy issue. You have a choice in subscribing to search or social sites – if you don't agree with Google's privacy policy, you can use some other service whose terms you find more pleasing. Agreements with such companies are purely a matter of choice, with which government should not interfere. But the ISP's are different. Consumers have little -- if any -- choice of Internet Service Providers, because government severely restricts competition. As long as free choice cannot protect the consumer, rules like this are necessary.