A data security rule, created under the former FCC regime, looks like it may not survive long enough to see implementation, which was scheduled to begin on March 2 and continue over the coming months.
The rule, among other things, requires Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to get consumers’ consent before they share personal data with third parties, including advertisers.
Recently-appointed chairman Ajit Pai placed a temporary stay on the rule last week, the first step in the rule’s likely demise.
From Ars Technica:
Pai has said that ISPs shouldn’t face stricter rules than online providers like Google and Facebook, which are regulated separately by the Federal Trade Commission. Pai wants a “technology-neutral privacy framework for the online world” based on the FTC’s standards. According to today’s FCC statement, the data security rule “is not consistent with the FTC’s privacy standards.”
“Chairman Pai believes that the best way to protect the online privacy of American consumers is through a comprehensive and uniform regulatory framework,” the FCC said. “All actors in the online space should be subject to the same rules, and the federal government shouldn’t favor one set of companies over another.”
The development is considered a win for telecom giants and ISPs, who had been lobbying against the rules. They argue that they are being held to standards not required of other internet companies like Google or Netflix.
From NPR:
A group of telecom associations and companies, including Comcast, Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, has filed a petition asking the FCC to halt broader privacy rules, which were passed in part on the basis of the broader authority the agency claimed over the industry through its landmark “net neutrality” overhaul.
As we’ve reported before, telecom and cable companies argue that the new FCC privacy rules put them on an unequal footing with other Internet companies that collect data on users, like Google and Netflix, which are only overseen by the Federal Trade Commission.
The FTC’s privacy guidelines are less stringent than the ones passed by the FCC and they are implemented through investigations and enforcement, rather than pre-emptive regulations.
Others have questioned the authority of the FCC to regulate broadband companies at all.
However, consumer advocates heralded the now-nixed rule.
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