Tenney, others vote to roll back ISP regulation

WASHINGTON >> Congress has sent President Donald Trump legislation that would kill an online privacy regulation, a move that could eventually allow internet providers such as Comcast, AT&T and Verizon to sell the browsing habits of their customers.

The Federal Communications Commission rule issued in October was designed to give consumers greater control over how internet service providers share information. But critics said the rule would have stifled innovation and picked winners and losers among Internet companies.

The House voted 215-205 to reject the rule. The Senate had already voted to the block it.

Claudia Tenney, R-22, voted to reject the rule, saying she believes in privacy protections but has “concerns that the rule promotes conflicting and inconsistent oversight standards,” according to a Facebook post. She says the rule puts websites and ISPs on a different playing field, placing internet ser- vice providers at a “disadvantage since they are subject to significantly different privacy standards than websites for no other reason than Congress has yet to clarify the authorities of the FTC and FCC.”

The vote is part of an extensive effort that Republicans have undertaken to void an array of regulations issued during the final months of Democratic President Barack Obama’s tenure. But the vote was closer this time with 15 Republicans siding with Democrats in the effort to keep the rule in place.