How We Just Lost the Future of Our Internet Privacy

Last October, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted rules protecting broadband consumer privacy, a victory for Internet users across America. This Monday, the tide turned to the side of the telecommunications industry; in his latest jab at everything that occurred under the Obama administration, Trump signed the FCC order's repeal.

The FCC, an independent government agency overseen by Congress regulating U.S. communications, implemented the order "Protecting the Privacy of Customers of Broadband and Other Telecommunications Services" to fortify data security, transparency, and choice in how internet service providers (ISPs) use customer proprietary information (PI). This measure did become law under Obama, but privacy should not be a partisan issue. Even for the average American that just watches cat videos and follows celebrities on Twitter, the repeal of this order does not bear good news. The commodification of everyday communications is a dangerous step towards losing basic privacy rights.

I admit I am no technology expert, but I can read the FCC order. What exactly are we losing from the order repeal? For starters, ISPs will not have to give data breach notifications within 30 days. We will not have fundamental definitions laid out in the document, meaning our Social Security numbers may technically not qualify as "proprietary" information. We will not have strengthened transparency and safety measures such as requiring telecommunication carriers to draft clearer privacy policies and recommending better data security procedures. In short, our information – everything from geo-locations to web application usage history – has lost a significant promise of protection.

In privacy debates, this argument always surfaces: if you aren't doing anything illegal, you shouldn't care who accesses your information. The problem isn't hiding information; it's protecting. This 2013 Pew survey found that the very last parties Internet users try to avoid are law enforcement and the government. Who made the top two? Hackers and advertisers. Without stricter regulations of how our data is used and how we are notified about it, we are more vulnerable to having sensitive information stolen and used without consent. Let's not forget that just two years ago, AT&T employees were found to have stolen names and Social Security numbers of 280,000 customers and sold them to third parties.

Secondly, the order aims to protect basic Internet privacy on the principle that Americans believe we have the right to it. The same Pew survey found that an overwhelming majority of Americans think it is "very important" to have control over their information, and that "if the traditional American view of privacy is the 'right to be left alone,' the 21st-century refinement of that idea is the right to control their identity and information." Basically, we don't need everyone knowing our guilty pleasure shows and credit card numbers.

Now, the FCC chairman, Ajit Pai, says that this is simply a move to "shift responsibility" from the FCC back to the FTC, the Federal Trade Commission, and fix disproportionate regulations in this "fractured privacy framework." Yet, no order was ready to replace or improve upon what the FCC promised at the time of the repeal, and Pai's new plan for net neutrality has already been getting backlash. Furthermore, Pai reportedly expects "internet providers to voluntarily agree to not obstruct or slow consumer access to web content." In what world would companies voluntarily agree to something that would decrease their profits?

As for the FTC's role, a contributor to The Hill, Katie McAuliffe, writes that the FCC "stole the Federal Trade Commission's ability to create regulations for ISPs." However, in McAuliffe's own words, "the FCC still has authority over broadband providers if they violate existing established privacy standards." Most importantly, the order states that "common carriers subject to the Communications Act," passed by Congress to protect customer privacy regarding telecommunications, "are exempt from the FTC's Section 5 authority." The order extends into areas not covered by FTC jurisdiction at all. Additionally, the order makes a point to be consistent with existing FTC policies. McAuliffe then claims "the rules never went into affect [sic], which means no one lost any of the protections that were vacated." This is a convenient way of saying the FCC order was stayed the day before it was supposed to go into effect, and we can't miss what we didn't have.

If you still think the repeal is not noteworthy and was with good intentions, take a gander at the partisan shenanigans. The giant that is the telecom industry donates to Democrats and Republicans alike, and yet, it was sponsored and voted for by Republicans only. Privacy is one of the only things all Americans can agree is a fundamental right (don't touch our religions, guns, speech, or property), so why did Republicans just make this sacred American tradition into yet another partisan issue? I'll leave those speculations to you. However, I will say that Americans should definitely be afraid for the future of Internet privacy – or the lack thereof.