The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed a more stringent set of Privacy Rules for Internet service providers (ISPs).
Once approved, these new rules are going to make certain that ISPs could not share data about the online activities of their consumers with marketers without obtaining users' permission.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler circulated the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for consideration by the full Commission.
The proposal with the title "Chairman Wheeler's Proposal to Give Broadband Consumers Increased Choice, Transparency [and] Security With Respect to Their Data" aims to make sure consumers have the necessary tools for them to "make informed choices about how and whether their data is used and shared by their broadband providers."
The Privacy Rules are going to oblige ISPs to clearly reveal how data may be collected along with how the information is used by third parties.
The proposal explains that broadband providers are able to amass the personal data of consumers to generate "detailed profiles" about them.
It further says that considering that ISPs handle their consumers' network traffic, they have an "unobstructed view of all of their unencrypted online activity," which includes the applications they are using plus the sites they are visiting, in "real time."
Moreover, Wheeler's proposal underscores that its objective is not to prohibit ISPs from using or sharing the data of their consumers for any purpose. Rather, it says that it requires that ISPs should first get permission from their consumers prior to using and sharing their personal information.
Commenting on the proposed Privacy Rules, Jeffrey Chester, Center for Digital Democracy’s executive director, believes that “this is nothing short of a historic moment.”
“Unlike the Federal Trade Commission, the FCC has the legal authority to enact safeguards that will allow an individual to have real control over how their information can be gathered,” he told the New York Times.
The proposal comes hot on the heels of the enforcement action taken versus Verizon a few days ago. The FCC discovered that Verizon was employing “supercookies” in tracking users’ online activities via mobile browsers, even if the consumers tried wiping out cookies from browsers and clearing their browsing histories.
The FCC is going to vote on Wheeler's proposal on March 31. Once adopted, the FCC will then start collecting inputs from the public.
The vetting will be a month-long process before the final version of the Privacy Rules is considered.
Here are the proposed Privacy Rules for ISPs [PDF].
