Republicans in Congress have repealed the FCC’s rules protecting your online data. What’s it mean for you? CNET has the answers.
Obama-era rules designed to regulate how broadband companies handle your private information online are on their way out.
As of Tuesday, both houses of Congress have voted to repeal regulations adopted last year by the Federal Communications Commission. The next step is a signature from President Donald Trump, who has already signaled he’s eager to get rid of the regulation.
Both houses of Congress have voted to stop new FCC consumer-privacy rules from kicking in.
This follows efforts by new FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to put the brakes on stricter requirements for broadband companies to protect your data from hackers. Consumer advocacy groups and other proponents for such requirements argue that they protect your privacy, while internet service providers say the regulations are too strict and don’t apply to online companies like Facebook or Google.
So what’s all this mean for consumers? CNET has put together this FAQ to help explain.
The House of Representatives on Tuesday voted 215-205 to stop FCC regulations from taking effect that would have required broadband and wireless companies to ask your permission before sharing sensitive information about you, such as the websites you visit, the apps you use or even your location. The rules would have also set standards for broadband providers to protect information they collect and store. And they would have set requirements for when and how companies would inform you if your data was stolen.
The House vote follows a similar 50-48 vote in the Senate, which invoked the Congressional Review Act. This law gives Congress the power to override regulations adopted by federal agencies before they go into effect.
Tuesday’s vote basically kills rules that the Democrat-led FCC adopted in October. Now that bill will go to Trump to sign.
No. The FCC voted 2-1 earlier this month to put on hold the data security provision of the rules. The provision that requires customers to “opt in” to allow your internet service provider to share personal information with marketers was still under review by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget.
Yes. According to a report published last year, Americans are more worried about their data privacy than they are about losing their main source of income. The rules the FCC adopted were the strictest set of regulations that had ever been imposed to protect consumer online privacy. Even though the rules only included broadband and wireless providers, and excluded internet companies like Google and Facebook, proponents saw it as a first step in giving consumers more control of their personal data online.
Since the FCC’s rules never actually went into effect, you won’t notice much difference in how companies are protecting your privacy.
