The U.S. House of Representatives approved a resolution to
repeal the FCC's restrictive and uneven broadband privacy rules. House
Resolution 230 is based on the Congressional Review Act (CRA), and
sponsored by Rep. Mike Burgess. The Senate
passed a similar resolution on March 23. Presidential approval of the
repeal is now expected.
The FCC's broadband privacy rules saddled broadband Internet
service providers (ISPs) – but not other online service providers that collect
consumer information – with intrusive requirements. The Commission provided no
justification for such lopsided rules and such restrictions would have had the
effect of reducing available choices for consumers. Significant policy flaws
with the Commission's privacy rules were addressed in further detail in several
prior Free State Foundation publications listed below. In addition, those rules
were legally suspect. The Commission's primary source of claimed authority for
adopting them – Section 622 – specifically addressed subscriber information
collected exclusively by telephone service providers.
Professor Daniel Lyons, a member of FSF's Board of
Academic Advisors, also offered an excellent analysis of the FCC's problematic
rules and the way forward in his Perspectives
from FSF Scholars paper, "The
Right Way to Protect Privacy Throughout the Internet Ecosystem."
Once the Commission's broadband privacy rules are
repealed, the agency can adopt a more sensible set of privacy standards that
mirror those applied by the Federal Trade Commission. In today's convergent digital
marketplace, there is no reason to think that consumers want different online privacy
standards to apply to the collection and use of personal information depending simply
on whether the service provider is an ISP or "edge" provider. As a
follow-up to the CRA repeal of the FCC's broadband privacy rules, Congress
should consider legislation to establish the FTC as the common enforcer of a
common set of privacy standards for all online service providers. ************
Prior FSF publications on FCC privacy policy:
Daniel A. Lyons, "The
Right Way to Protect Privacy Throughout the Internet Ecosystem," Perspectives from FSF Scholars, Vol. 12,
No. 10 (March 24, 2017)
Reply Comments of the Free State Foundation – Petitions
for Reconsideration, Protecting
the Privacy of Customers of Broadband And Other Telecommunications Services
(March 16, 2017).
Michael J. Horney, "FCC
Privacy Rules Would Harm Consumers by Creating Barriers for ISP Advertising,"
Perspectives from FSF Scholars, Vol.
11, No. 28 (August 3, 2016).
Comments of the Free State Foundation, Regarding
Protecting the Privacy of Customers of Broadband and Other Telecommunications
Services, (May 31, 2016).Seth L. Cooper, "FCC's Internet Privacy Power Grab Unsupported by Law," FSF Blog (October 23, 2015).
Randolph J. May and Seth L. Cooper, "Any
New Privacy Regime Should Mean An End to FCC Privacy Powers," Perspectives from FSF Scholars, Vol. 7,
No. 9 (April 5, 2012).
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