President Trump promised in his inaugural address Friday to transfer power back to the American people. He should begin by ensuring the privacy of their online data.
Instead, his pick as the new chairman of the Federal Communication Commission, Ajit Pai, is widely expected to kill the landmark FCC privacy protections that were passed by a 3-2 vote in October.
The new rules would require Internet providers such as Verizon, Comcast and AT&T, to definitively ask for the customer’s consent before using or sharing an individual’s data with a third party.
It’s a basic privacy right that should be embraced by all online businesses. Period.
Tom Wheeler, the FCC chair under President Obama, had it right when he said last October, “There is a basic truth: It is the consumer’s information. It is not the information of the network the consumer hires to deliver that information.”
Pai’s objection is that the rules only apply to Internet providers, meaning Silicon Valley giants such as Google and Facebook, which control about 65 percent of the $60 billion digital ad market, don’t have to comply. Web companies fall under the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission — not the FCC — and it has been loath to take up the issue.
This is why we need an online user bill of rights similar to those adopted by every advanced Western nation in the world except this one, where the internet was born.
Most Americans have no idea of the extent to which companies are collecting and profiting from the data they collect from smartphone, tablet, laptop and personal computer users. The FCC rules would have prevented collecting or sharing of such information as Social Security numbers, health data, financial information, emails, and even where users went and what they bought at different locations.
It explains why, when you do a browser search for practically anything under the sun, you suddenly see on your screen advertisements related to your search or to previous searches. It’s creepy — like being stalked by someone who records your every action and takes pictures of everything you buy.
Broadband providers and web companies argue that no one, including the FCC or FTC, has been able to demonstrate how sharing consumer data is hurting consumers. But it’s a basic trust issue, and Silicon Valley companies risk seeing their actions eventually undermine their relationship with the people who buy their products. All online users should have the right to opt out of having sensitive data shared with third parties.
The president and the FCC should give that power to the people.
Bay Area News Group
