House Republicans vote to let internet service companies collect your browsing habits

WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives has voted to overturn a nationwide regulation intended to stop companies from selling your personal information without consent.

On Tuesday, the House voted to repeal the Obama-era FCC rules that protect the privacy of users' web browsing history.

The resolution, which already passed in the senate last week, allows internet providers such as AT&T, Verizon and Comcast,  to monitor where consumers browse online, what they buy, what they watch on television, as well as any health and financial information that you divulge through internet use.

The repeal, part of a Republican effort to unwind regulations imposed under President Barack Obama, was opposed by15 Republicans, along with Democrats who cited privacy protection.

Republican proponents of the repeal of the FCC rule imposed last October said it would level the playing field between internet service providers and internet giants like Facebook, Google and Twitter that already harvest some personal data and use it for targeted advertising.

Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, said last week that the vote marked a rout for consumers.

"We are talking about taking privacy rights away from individuals if we suddenly eliminate this rule," Nelson said. "This is a gold mine of data, the Holy Grail, so to speak."

“It is no wonder that broadband providers want to be able to sell this information to the highest bidder without the consumer's knowledge or consent,” Nelson said.

Consumer protection and civil liberties groups also fumed.

"This was engineered by lobbyists for the phone and cable companies," said Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, a Washington advocacy group for an open internet.

If President Trump signs the legislation, internet giants will be able to gather customers’ location, financial and health information, and web browsing history to sell to advertisers. Consumers would not be able to opt out.

“There is no excuse for robbing Americans of these rights,” the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America said in a statement last week.

“The argument that the rules are unfair because other internet businesses that collect and sell individuals’ personal information wouldn’t be covered is disingenuous. Congress could, and should, enact a law that would provide the same strong privacy protections across the entire online ecosystem,” it said.

The FCC regulation at stake also requires ISPs to notify consumers of any data breach, obligates providers to tell customers what data is being collected and how it will be used and bars “take-it-or-leave-it” sales pitches that don’t allow customers to opt out.

The legislation is now on its way to President Trump's desk.  He is expected to sign it.

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Cox Media Group