Senate Puts ISP Profits Over Your Privacy

Senate Republicans narrowly approve repeal of the FCC's ISP privacy rules.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/03/senate-puts-isp-profits-over-your-privacy

The Senate just voted to roll back your online privacy protections. Speak up now to keep the House from doing the same thing.

ISPs have been lobbying for weeks to get lawmakers to repeal the FCC’s rules that stand between them and using even creepier ways to track and profit off of your every move online. Republicans in the Senate just voted 50-48 (with two absent votes) to approve a Congressional Review Action resolution from Sen. Jeff Flake which—if it makes it through the House—would not only roll back the FCC’s rules but also prevent the FCC from writing similar rules in the future.

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If passed, your browsing history will be sold to the highest bidder.

VPN's can be hit and miss, particularly as the fact that they are in foreign countries (which allows them to not have to disclose data to authorities) can also mean they can lie to you about their logging habits. However, should this pass I would highly recommend in investing in a non-free one. They can cost between $5-10 a month.

That would be a crushing loss for online privacy. ISPs act as gatekeepers to the Internet, giving them incredible access to records of what you do online. They shouldn’t be able to profit off of the information about what you search for, read about, purchase, and more without your consent.

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Yeah, VPN's will definitely be seeing increased business in the coming year. I've been using PIA for a number of years and so far have seen no reason to doubt it.

In the end the final door is trust, and no matter how bitter a pill that is to swallow that will never change.

Anyway, Trump supporters won't have a problem with having their browsing history sold. Privacy is too abstract a concept for them to wrap their heads around. They're unable to understand Net Neutrality so they're sure as hell not going to understand this.

Cardinal said:

Yeah, VPN's will definitely be seeing increased business in the coming year. I've been using PIA for a number of years and so far have seen no reason to doubt it.

In the end the final door is trust, and no matter how bitter a pill that is to swallow that will never change.

Anyway, Trump supporters won't have a problem with having their browsing history sold. Privacy is too abstract a concept for them to wrap their heads around. They're unable to understand Net Neutrality so they're sure as hell not going to understand this.

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Yeah, at the end of the day I trust an offshore company I've done some research on than my ISP, especially seeing as it's the ISP's who pushed for this. I don't use PIA but I've heard good things.

Can't stress enough that a free VPN won't do people any good. You get what you pay for. A little while ago there was a VPN called Hola Better Internet that purported to be free but was actually selling its users bandwidth to the highest bidder, essentially making you part of a massive botnet for hire. Not good.

Anyway, this bill can still be blocked in the house. We'll see if they have the balls to. I somehow doubt it.

Would any of this information be admissable in criminal/civil trials?

I don't condone this personally. Being marketed to based on my browser history doesn't bother me so much, I've accepted that companies will bombard me with their products everywhere I turn. But, if your online purchases or past browsing history could be used to prove you unfit to be a parent in court or something of the nature, that doesn't sit well with me.

Nilly said:

Senate Republicans narrowly approve repeal of the FCC's ISP privacy rules.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/03/senate-puts-isp-profits-over-your-privacy



If passed, your browsing history will be sold to the highest bidder.

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Considering the FCC rules in question haven't taken effect yet, "if passed," nothing changes from what's happening right now. And right now, consumers still have the option to "opt out" of the information sharing.

So, read your EULAs and don't take the default choice on privacy questions, and you'll be covered.

Harshaw said:

Considering the FCC rules in question haven't taken effect yet, "if passed," nothing changes from what's happening right now. And right now, consumers still have the option to "opt out" of the information sharing.

So, read your EULAs and don't take the default choice on privacy questions, and you'll be covered.

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Your post is a morass of contradictions.

Don't worry, nothing will change anyway.

Don't worry, the FCC rules haven't taken effect yet.

Don't worry, you have the right to opt out of information sharing before the Republican's policy takes shape.

Don't worry the bill hasn't passed yet.

Jesus Christ, rather than throwing fifteen arguments at the wall, pick one.

Nilly said:

Yeah, at the end of the day I trust an offshore company I've done some research on than my ISP, especially seeing as it's the ISP's who pushed for this. I don't use PIA but I've heard good things.

Can't stress enough that a free VPN won't do people any good. You get what you pay for. A little while ago there was a VPN called Hola Better Internet that purported to be free but was actually selling its users bandwidth to the highest bidder, essentially making you part of a massive botnet for hire. Not good.

Anyway, this bill can still be blocked in the house. We'll see if they have the balls to. I somehow doubt it.

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I wouldn't use a free VPN. As for PIA, I haven't tried them all but the speed is excellent and the privacy statement on their website looks good. It also comes with a handy feature called Mace, which blocks tracking and a lot of ads, which is particularly useful on ios devices where you can't add privacy extensions to your browser (what the hell is up with that anyway?).

But, as I said, it always comes down to trust.

Cardinal said:

Yeah, VPN's will definitely be seeing increased business in the coming year. I've been using PIA for a number of years and so far have seen no reason to doubt it.

In the end the final door is trust, and no matter how bitter a pill that is to swallow that will never change.

Anyway, Trump supporters won't have a problem with having their browsing history sold. Privacy is too abstract a concept for them to wrap their heads around. They're unable to understand Net Neutrality so they're sure as hell not going to understand this.

Click to expand...

Yeah it is all about who you trust, I trust the ISPs more than the VPNs. That doesn't make me naive, I just understand the industry a little bit better than most people.

Nilly said:

Senate Republicans narrowly approve repeal of the FCC's ISP privacy rules.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/03/senate-puts-isp-profits-over-your-privacy



If passed, your browsing history will be sold to the highest bidder.

VPN's can be hit and miss, particularly as the fact that they are in foreign countries (which allows them to not have to disclose data to authorities) can also mean they can lie to you about their logging habits. However, should this pass I would highly recommend in investing in a non-free one. They can cost between $5-10 a month.

Click to expand...

OH NO! This means that the NSA/CIA/FBI will start engaging in unauthorized spying on the American people!

Winston said:

Would any of this information be admissable in criminal/civil trials?

I don't condone this personally. Being marketed to based on my browser history doesn't bother me so much, I've accepted that companies will bombard me with their products everywhere I turn. But, if your online purchases or past browsing history could be used to prove you unfit to be a parent in court or something of the nature, that doesn't sit well with me.

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They already are available to investigators.

Cardinal said:

Your post is a morass of contradictions.

Don't worry, nothing will change anyway.

Don't worry, the FCC rules haven't taken effect yet.

Don't worry, you have the right to opt out of information sharing before the Republican's policy takes shape.

Don't worry the bill hasn't passed yet.

Jesus Christ, rather than throwing fifteen arguments at the wall, pick one.

Click to expand...

THIS is when you decide to give up the pretense of ignoring me? Really? :roll: All righty, then.

What's difficult in grasping that because the FCC rules haven't taken effect yet, if they don't ever take effect -- which is what happens if the bill in the OP does pass -- then nothing actually changes?

Is that too complex a thought for you? I mean, seriously?

And because nothing changes, the rules in effect now stay in effect. And under those rules, you can opt out of the feared data-sharing.

Have I lost you again? It seems from your post I probably did. But hey, let's take a walk on the wild side and plow forward anyway:

What you need to do to opt out is read your agreements and don't take the default privacy settings.

QED. Not a "contradiction" to be found anywhere. (Are you sure you know what the word means?)

^^^^^^^
That, my friend, is what you call a straightforward line of thought. And it's a simple one, too, which apparently no one but you had any trouble with. :roll: