Forget about online privacy

Experts say to practice digital hygiene instead

SAN FRANCISCO Protecting your Internet activities from collection and sale by marketers is easier said than done, especially after Tuesday’s vote to overturn pending FCC privacy rules for Internet Service Providers.

The move by Congress dismantled rules created by the Federal Communications Commission just six months ago, rules that weren’t slated to go into effect until later this year. President Trump is expected to sign the bill into law soon.

The decision, decried by consumer groups and Democrats and lauded by Republicans and telecom companies, sent those worried looking for a fallback plan. One possibility? Wider use of VPNs, which provide private end- to- end Internet connections and are typically used to keep out snoops when using public Wi- Fi.

But such protection is limited. While VPNs keep broadband providers from seeing the sites users visit, that masking only goes so far — once logged into a website, an operator such as Amazon tracks users’ activities so they can suggest tailored products.

The Trump administration’s FCC argued that ISPs such as Comcast and AT& T should not face more stringent privacy rules than online companies such as Facebook and Google, which also collect information about users. Opponents countered that ISPs are different because they have access to users’ full Web browsing habits and physical addresses. The move leaves the status quo intact.

“Your entire clickstream, basically your life online, has the potentially to become one giant profile,” said Matt Stamper, director of security and risk management programs at the consulting company Gartner.

Overall, the best course of action for those concerned is to practice “digital privacy hygiene” by giving as little information as possible when online to minimize the digital footprint available to companies, said Nuala O’Connor, president and CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology, a nonprofit digital rights group.

“Your entire clickstream, basically your life online, has the potential to become one giant profile.” Matt Stamper, director of security and risk management programs at consulting company Gartner