Last fall, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted historic rules to require broadband Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to protect certain sensitive customer information, including web browser history, app usage history and specific geolocation information.
Under the rules, ISPs would have been allowed to share less sensitive information, like email addresses, unless the consumer opts out. The rules would also have required a consumer’s affirmative “opt-in” before an ISP could share the most sensitive information.
The rules were slated to take effect in December of this year. Congress recently passed a bill repealing the rules, which was signed by the President yesterday, so the FCC rules will not go into effect after all. Privacy advocates argue that the repeal puts the interests of ISPs before consumer privacy. Supporters of the repeal argue that the rules unfairly targeted ISPs while other platforms, like Facebook and Google, would not have been bound by similar restrictions.
Read a summary of the FCC proposed rules here and an article with more information about the repeal here. Contact us at Ossian Law regarding any information technology law matter.
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