[Zagadka]

U.S. Senate votes to overturn Obama broadband privacy rules

The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted narrowly to repeal regulations requiring internet service providers to do more to protect customers' privacy than websites like Alphabet Inc's Google (GOOGL.O) or Facebook Inc (FB.O).

The vote was along party lines, with 50 Republicans approving the measure and 48 Democrats rejecting it. The two remaining Republicans in the Senate were absent and did not cast a vote.

According to the rules approved by the Federal Communications Commission in October under then-President Barack Obama, internet providers would need to obtain consumer consent before using precise geolocation, financial information, health information, children's information and web browsing history for advertising and internal marketing.

The vote was a victory for internet providers such as AT&T Inc (T.N), Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) and Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N), which had strongly opposed the rules.

The bill next goes to the U.S. House of Representatives, but it was not clear when they would take up the measure.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate was overturning a regulation that "makes the internet an uneven playing field, increases complexity, discourages competition, innovation, and infrastructure investment."

But Democratic Senator Ed Markey said, "Republicans have just made it easier for American’s sensitive information about their health, finances and families to be used, shared, and sold to the highest bidder without their permission."

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said consumers would have privacy protections even without the Obama administration internet provider rules.

In a joint statement, Democratic members of the FCC and the Federal Trade Commission said the Senate vote "creates a massive gap in consumer protection law as broadband and cable companies now have no discernible privacy requirements."

Republican commissioners, including Pai, said in October that the rules would unfairly give websites like Facebook, Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) or Google the ability to harvest more data than internet service providers and thus dominate digital advertising. The FCC earlier this month delayed the data rules from taking effect.

The Internet and Television Association, a trade group, in a statement praised the vote as a "critical step towards re-establishing a balanced framework that is grounded in the long-standing and successful FTC privacy framework that applies equally to all parties operating online."

Websites are governed by a less restrictive set of privacy rules overseen by the Federal Trade Commission.

Jonathan Schwantes, senior policy counsel for advocacy group Consumers Union, said the vote "is a huge step in the wrong direction, and it completely ignores the needs and concerns of consumers."

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-internet-idUSKBN16U2ER

Well, get ready to learn what it feels like to be sold down the river while your 4th amendment rights are ripped from your throat. Next we lose net neutrality and the ISPs dictate what is accessible. I would suggest investing in a VPN client.

[The Immortal Goon]

Drain the swamp!

By giving corporate billionaires access to your financial and medical documents!

It boggles the mind to imagine who would be for such a thing, aside from the most hated companies in the world, like Comcast.

[Zagadka]

Yea, I really have no idea why any regular citizen would support this move. There is just... no benefit, unless you are a service provider or government agency.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

[Decky]

Sounds like you hate freedom. Nothing to hide nothing to fear, no smoke without fire etc. The patriot act is there for a reason. As for your precious constitution who cares? The right treat it as toilet paper and rightly so. The mango Mussolini knows what's best for the nation, just under half of the people who bothered to vote are behind him. I bet you think all those innocent left wingers should not have been purged during McCarthyism too traitor! God bless America, no one else will that's for sure.

[MistyTiger]

This vote is disgusting, utterly disgusting!

The peons who support the overturning are vile and stupid. And this will affect them too unless they managed to get on the exclusion list or maybe they do not care since they use VPNs.