However much you hate your cable company, know that they love you—and all the money you give them. Now, they've got another reason to love you, courtesy of the U.S. Senate, and the vote they just finished: Whoever provides your internet access will now be free to track what you look at online, and then, sell that information to other companies.
By a vote of 50-48, the U.S. Senate on Thursday approved a resolution that repealed a requirement put in place by the Federal Communications Commission forcing internet service providers (like: cable companies, or the companies that you pay for internet access) to obtain permission from their consumers before tracking and selling their data.
That rule, which had yet to go into effect, represented one of the biggest moves by the FCC (the government's primary media regulator) to protect consumers with respect to the data that they collect online.
The resolution will need to go through the House of Representatives and get a signature from President Donald Trump to become official.
"With today’s vote, Senate Republicans have just made it easier for American’s sensitive information about their health, finances and families to be used, shared, and sold to the highest bidder without their permission," said Sen. Edward Markey (D) in a statement following the vote.
If the resolution is successful, your internet provider will be able to track where you go online, what you look at, and a host of other things, and then sell that information to other companies — and they won't need to ask for your permission or notify that they are doing this.
More....
By a vote of 50-48, the U.S. Senate on Thursday approved a resolution that repealed a requirement put in place by the Federal Communications Commission forcing internet service providers (like: cable companies, or the companies that you pay for internet access) to obtain permission from their consumers before tracking and selling their data.
That rule, which had yet to go into effect, represented one of the biggest moves by the FCC (the government's primary media regulator) to protect consumers with respect to the data that they collect online.
The resolution will need to go through the House of Representatives and get a signature from President Donald Trump to become official.
"With today’s vote, Senate Republicans have just made it easier for American’s sensitive information about their health, finances and families to be used, shared, and sold to the highest bidder without their permission," said Sen. Edward Markey (D) in a statement following the vote.
If the resolution is successful, your internet provider will be able to track where you go online, what you look at, and a host of other things, and then sell that information to other companies — and they won't need to ask for your permission or notify that they are doing this.
More....
