Congress Moves to Strike Internet Privacy Rules From Obama Era

Republican lawmakers moved to dismantle landmark internet privacy protections for individuals, the first decisive strike against telecommunications and technology regulations created during the Obama administration and a harbinger for more deregulation to come.

In a 50-to-48 vote largely along party lines, the Senate Republican majority voted to overturn the privacy rules, which had been created in October by the Federal Communications Commission. The move means a company like Verizon or Comcast can continue tracking and sharing people’s browsing and app activity without asking their permission. An individual’s data collected by these companies also does not need to be secured with “reasonable measures” against hackers. The privacy rules, which had sought to address these issues, were scheduled to go into effect at the end of 2017. The vote begins a repeal of those regulations. Next week, the House is expected to mirror the Senate’s action through the same Congressional Review Act procedure that allows Congress to overturn new agency rules. The House is expected to pass the resolution, which would then move to President Donald Trump to sign.