Finally, A Win For The GOP!

[Cigar]

The House just voted to wipe out the FCCs landmark Internet privacy protections


House Republicans voted overwhelmingly Tuesday, by a margin of 215-205, to repeal a set of landmark privacy protections for Web users, issuing a sweeping rebuke of Internet policies enacted under the Obama administration. It also marks a sharp, partisan pivot toward letting Internet providers collect and sell their customers' Web browsing history, location information, health data and other personal details.

The measure, which was approved by a 50-48 margin in the Senate last week, now heads to the White House, where President Trump is expected to sign it.

Congress's joint resolution empowers Internet providers to enter the $83 billion market for online advertising now dominated by Google and Facebook. It is likely to lend momentum to a broader GOP rollback of Obama-era technology policies, and calls into question the fate of other tech regulations such as net neutrality, which was approved in 2015 over strident Republican objections and bans Internet providers from discriminating against websites. And it is a sign that companies such as AT&T, Comcast and Verizon will be treated more permissively at a time when conservatives control all three branches of government.

Supporters of Tuesday's repeal vote argued the privacy regulations, written by the Federal Communications Commission, stifle innovation by forcing Internet providers to abide by unreasonably strict guidelines.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...e-fccs-landmark-internet-privacy-protections/


Happy Dayzzz are hear again ... the sky's above are dark again! Happy Dayzzz are hear again!

 

[X Factor]

You mean besides every midterm election since 2008 and the 2016 presidential election?

 

[Cigar]

You mean besides every midterm election since 2008 and the 2016 presidential election?

You mean you're not tired of Winning ... Good ... more is coming.

 

[Moot]

View attachment 67215777

The House just voted to wipe out the FCCs landmark Internet privacy protections


House Republicans voted overwhelmingly Tuesday, by a margin of 215-205, to repeal a set of landmark privacy protections for Web users, issuing a sweeping rebuke of Internet policies enacted under the Obama administration. It also marks a sharp, partisan pivot toward letting Internet providers collect and sell their customers' Web browsing history, location information, health data and other personal details.

The measure, which was approved by a 50-48 margin in the Senate last week, now heads to the White House, where President Trump is expected to sign it.

Congress's joint resolution empowers Internet providers to enter the $83 billion market for online advertising now dominated by Google and Facebook. It is likely to lend momentum to a broader GOP rollback of Obama-era technology policies, and calls into question the fate of other tech regulations such as net neutrality, which was approved in 2015 over strident Republican objections and bans Internet providers from discriminating against websites. And it is a sign that companies such as AT&T, Comcast and Verizon will be treated more permissively at a time when conservatives control all three branches of government.

Supporters of Tuesday's repeal vote argued the privacy regulations, written by the Federal Communications Commission, stifle innovation by forcing Internet providers to abide by unreasonably strict guidelines.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...e-fccs-landmark-internet-privacy-protections/


Happy Dayzzz are hear again ... the sky's above are dark again! Happy Dayzzz are hear again!

Lets hope the Senate has more sense.

 

[Mustachio]

Lets hope the Senate has more sense.

Joint resolution, already passed the senate. Remember when all Americans were united to keep the internet free, open and private? Now we live in a country where party affiliation dictates viewpoints rather than the other way around. If that makes sense to anybody I'd love to try to understand why.

 

[Fishking]

Ummm...what's the problem here? Google and others already datamine and sell the **** out of your information as it is. This changes nothing insofar as any actual internet privacy.

 

[Moot]

Joint resolution, already passed the senate. Remember when all Americans were united to keep the internet free, open and private? Now we live in a country where party affiliation dictates viewpoints rather than the other way around. If that makes sense to anybody I'd love to try to understand why.

Remember the 'rubber stamp' congress? We've been down this road before.

 

[Moot]

Ummm...what's the problem here? Google and others already datamine and sell the **** out of your information as it is. This changes nothing insofar as any actual internet privacy.

Internet privacy is kind of a joke, isn't it?

 

[azgreg]

Internet privacy is kind of a joke, isn't it?

Yep. It's been my policy not to put anything on the internet I'm not willing to yell out in a crowded room.

 

[Moot]

Yep. It's been my policy not to put anything on the internet I'm not willing to yell out in a crowded room.

Same here. I don't even like using my real name.

 

[natsb]

Lets hope the Senate has more sense.

Why does it make sense that Google can collect, data mine, and sell the data, but Comcast is forbidden?

The rules should have been neutral, as in applied to everyone, or no one equally.

 

[Moot]

Why does it make sense that Google can collect, data mine, and sell the data, but Comcast is forbidden?

The rules should have been neutral, as in applied to everyone, or no one equally.

I didn't know that Comcast was forbidden.

 

[Mr Person]

Ummm...what's the problem here? Google and others already datamine and sell the **** out of your information as it is. This changes nothing insofar as any actual internet privacy.

The regulations would have changed something. I believe they were issued under Obama but have not gone effective yet. So the status quo remains. But they would have increased privacy protections and now they won't.

The way one uses a service can reveal a lot about them. If the electric company could identify the devices you use in your home and how much electricity each typically uses in a month, a very clear pattern of your life habits will emerge (and the more things get chipped and hooked up to the internet, the more likely such a scenario). Is that the kind of situation we really want?

That example is not different from what internet companies can do via tracking you. Some of us like privacy even if we don't have anything awful to hide.

 

[natsb]

I didn't know that Comcast was forbidden.

They are not now, but if the rules were allowed to take effect, they would have been because Comcast is an ISP.

That is why throwing out the rules is a good thing. We would have had a situation where an ISP was not allowed to sell collected data, but the biggest data collector of all time, Google, would be allowed to collect and sell because they are not an ISP.

THe reason for throwing out the convoluted privacy rules, was so they could be replaced with technology neutral rules.. For example, the rule should say personal information cannot be collected and sold without permission period. Setting up rules that allow some to sell, while others may not, depending on what technology was used to collect the data should have never passed in the first place.

 

[Mustachio]

Remember the 'rubber stamp' congress? We've been down this road before.

Being from Minnesota, I'm proud to say that partially because of me, now our Senate is half of a rubber stamp congress but with jokes.

 

[Fishking]

The regulations would have changed something. I believe they were issued under Obama but have not gone effective yet. So the status quo remains. But they would have increased privacy protections and now they won't.

The way one uses a service can reveal a lot about them. If the electric company could identify the devices you use in your home and how much electricity each typically uses in a month, a very clear pattern of your life habits will emerge (and the more things get chipped and hooked up to the internet, the more likely such a scenario). Is that the kind of situation we really want?

That example is not different from what internet companies can do via tracking you. Some of us like privacy even if we don't have anything awful to hide.

That makes sense. I'm not sure how it would actually work, though. It would break economic models and such. You have places like Google, Facebook, Youtube, ect that all have models connected to monitoring, tracking, and selling your data. It's all about advertisements, in the end.

I don't necessarily like it but I also am not as concerned about it as government monitoring.

 

[Fishking]

Internet privacy is kind of a joke, isn't it?

I basically assume anything I do on my computer and phone is being looked at by some company or another. I have to agree to that type of thing as part of the TOS. If I didn't want it, I guess I could quit using a lot of that stuff and/or download a proxy-server program to mask my activity.

 

[Moot]

Being from Minnesota, I'm proud to say that partially because of me, now our Senate is half of a rubber stamp congress but with jokes.

You also had Jesse Ventura as governor. Apparently, there's a lot of comic relief in Minnesota.

 

[Absentglare]

They are not now, but if the rules were allowed to take effect, they would have been because Comcast is an ISP.

That is why throwing out the rules is a good thing. We would have had a situation where an ISP was not allowed to sell collected data, but the biggest data collector of all time, Google, would be allowed to collect and sell because they are not an ISP.

THe reason for throwing out the convoluted privacy rules, was so they could be replaced with technology neutral rules.. For example, the rule should say personal information cannot be collected and sold without permission period. Setting up rules that allow some to sell, while others may not, depending on what technology was used to collect the data should have never passed in the first place.

Uhhh... you're confused. The issue isn't simply about data collection. It's about how the data is collected.

When i send packets to Google, Google must receive those packets in order to respond to them. My ISPs role is supposed to be like an armored car, not a spy who secretly monitors their customers.

 

[Mach]

Why does it make sense that Google can collect, data mine, and sell the data, but Comcast is forbidden?
The rules should have been neutral, as in applied to everyone, or no one equally.

Because you do not have to visit Google on the internet.
You have to use your ISP to be on the internet.

This is why no voter, and certainly no elected representative, should be able to remove our personal privacy, because they are too ignorant to be in charge of it in the first place.

How can Conservatives be for big corporations having rights to our personal data defacto? ****ing insane.

 

[Mach]

I don't necessarily like it but I also am not as concerned about it as government monitoring.

It's worse. Government no longer needs a warrant as it did for phones, to collect your personal data, it just requests it from Google, FB, and now it can just go to your ISP too.
In what world is this OK to you guys?
Big brother...who knew it would be 100% voluntarily from you guys, and by way of your own apathy towards that....we'd all lose it!

 

[Fishking]

It's worse. Government no longer needs a warrant as it did for phones, to collect your personal data, it just requests it from Google, FB, and now it can just go to your ISP too.
In what world is this OK to you guys?
Big brother...who knew it would be 100% voluntarily from you guys, and by way of your own apathy towards that....we'd all lose it!

Obviously I'm against the government being able to do that.

 

[natsb]

Because you do not have to visit Google on the internet.
You have to use your ISP to be on the internet.

Valid points.

This is why no voter, and certainly no elected representative, should be able to remove our personal privacy, because they are too ignorant to be in charge of it in the first place.

How can Conservatives be for big corporations having rights to our personal data defacto? ****ing insane.

I am not sure this is a big corporation versus little corporation issue. No ISP would have been allowed to sell the data, regardless of size.

Out of curiosity, are you okay with big Government having asses to the same data? I ask this because the new Net Neutrality rules require ISP's to collect the data we are talking about. The ISP is then required to run reports on the data, and even make the data available to the FCC, so that they, and other Government agencies can ensure the ISP is not violating any Net Neutrality rules.

Is the Government to be trusted with your personal privacy information, but not corporations?

 

[natsb]

Uhhh... you're confused. The issue isn't simply about data collection. It's about how the data is collected.

When i send packets to Google, Google must receive those packets in order to respond to them. My ISPs role is supposed to be like an armored car, not a spy who secretly monitors their customers.

I am confused now... I don't get the armored car analogy.

 

[Mach]

Is the Government to be trusted with your personal privacy information, but not corporations?

Corporations no way. If I want to give them my data, they can pay me for it like any other buy/sell transaction.
Government not without some sort of probably cause.
There should also be a sunset on all personal data. It's purged after x years whether they like it or not, and it cannot be used, etc.

Computers/mobile are way, way too personal of a device/interaction right now. If I go to the bank, I get dressed, I'm in public, it's not hard to protect privacy in that way. Security camersa record, but traditionally this was looked at only if there was a criminal incident, and it would be protected. That's about it.

Now? Everything open...your contacts list, everyone you email, call, talk to, all the secondary info in contacts, your call history, when you call people, the sites you visit, the sites you post on, etc., etc. Madness.

We have no ability to use the internet, without basically defact giving our data for free to corporations and government.
We have *almost* no ability to utilize popular sites and social media, without giving up our private data, a phenomenon that is only possible because there are no good rules against it.