It just got harder for Internet providers to use your info
In 3-2 vote, FCC adopts privacy rules that require consent
New privacy rules passed by the Federal Communication Commission on Thursday require Internet service providers to ask permission of their customers to collect and use personal information.
Providers of fixed and mobile broadband will need to get opt-in consent for data such as their consumers’ Web browsing histo- ry, app usage, health and financial information, children’s information, precise geolocation information and the content of online communications. Customers must also be notified how their information is used and what other parties the Internet service provider shares it with. Other non-sensitive consumer data could be used on an opt-out basis.
“Consumers care deeply about their privacy, and so should we,” said Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, who joined fellow Democrats Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel and FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in approving the measure with a 3-2 vote at the agency’s monthly meeting.
Wheeler described the adoption of new consumer privacy rules as a “common-sense step ... because before today there were no protections.”
Consumer privacy over Internet service providers’ (ISPs) broadband networks came under jurisdiction of the FCC after last year’s net neutrality, or Open Internet, rules were adopted. That gave the agency the authority to regulate ISPs as “common carriers,” akin to how telephone com- panies have provided landline phone service.
Once broadband providers were classified as common carriers, they were no longer under the Federal Trade Commission’s authority. Over the seven-month rule-making process, the FCC attempted to mirror the FTC’s privacy framework with a few differences, including what amounts to “sensitive” information, Clyburn says.
The two Republican Commissioners, Ajit Pai and Michael O’Rielly, expressed concerns that the FCC had overreached its authority and confused the issue. For instance, the FCC’s privacy rules differ from how the FTC handles the privacy of informa- tion collected by websites, apps and other Internet destinations. “In creating this disparate system of regulation, (the FCC) is both confusing consumers and likely to create an unlevel playing field,” Pai said.
Consumer advocates hailed the agency’s action. Various industry groups assailed it. “Consumers will be bombarded with opt-in notice requirements every time they search online, however innocuous the data they seek might be,” the Association of National Advertisers said in a statement.
The opt-in rules go into effect one year after they are published in the Federal Register, which is likely to occur before the end of the year.