FCC chair to block implementation of stricter broadband privacy rules

[DonViejo]

Source: Reuters



24 FEB 2017 AT 12:48 ET

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission will block Obama administration rules that subject broadband providers to stricter scrutiny than websites, a spokesman said on Friday, in a victory for internet providers like AT&T Inc, Comcast Corp and Verizon Communications Inc .

The rules approved by the FCC in October in a 3-2 vote were aimed at protecting sensitive personal consumer data.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai believes all companies in the “online space should be subject to the same rules, and the federal government should not favor one set of companies over another,” spokesman Mark Wigfield said in a statement.

Pai plans by March 2 to delay the implementation of the rules, which subject companies to stricter oversight than websites under Federal Trade Commission rules, the spokesman said. Such a temporary stay is a first step toward permanently preventing the rules from taking effect.

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2017/02/fcc-chair-to-block-implementation-of-stricter-broadband-privacy-rules/

[hunter]

1. I got a "Dating Beautiful Russians" ad on rawstory.

I'm guessing it's because I've been looking at the Russian flag CPAC punk news... One of the big advertising companies clearly left some cookies on my machine tagged "Russian."

But, yes, I do think broadband providers should be subject to MUCH stricter rules because they have the ability to see everything a user does.

Chairman Pai is comparing apples to oranges here. A broadband provider is not the same as a website.

On the other hand I'm resigned to the possibility that broadband providers like Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T will alienate so many of their customers that people will happily be lured into Google and Facebook Borg-style collectives promising "free" or very low cost broadband services. The existing telcoms had best be careful what they wish for. They're not the big kids on the block anymore.