There is a bill going to its final vote in the California state legislature this Friday and it could be a huge win for consumer privacy. Consumers in California may soon retake control of the data that broadband providers – such as AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon – collect on them. While this bill will only affect California consumers, it may just be the beginning of consumers waking up and empowering themselves again. California’s Broadband Privacy Bill The story of this bill is fraught with lobby attempts to crush it by large telecommunications companies. In fact, this bill almost never saw
There is a bill going to its final vote in the California state legislature this Friday and it could be a huge win for consumer privacy. Consumers in California may soon retake control of the data that broadband providers – such as AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon – collect on them. While this bill will only affect California consumers, it may just be the beginning of consumers waking up and empowering themselves again.
California’s Broadband Privacy Bill
The story of this bill is fraught with lobby attempts to crush it by large telecommunications companies. In fact, this bill almost never saw a vote because of the efforts of those companies. It took constituents being loud to make their voices heard. They wanted a vote on this bill. Because of the efforts of these California citizens, the state legislature moved forward with the bill and it will be voted on this Friday.
While overwhelming public support for the bill may have gotten it to the floor for a vote, it just barely made it. This is yet another demonstration about how our republic can be too easily influenced by corporate actors against the interest of citizens. Using their money and legal trickery, lobbyists for the ISP and telecommunications industry attempted to smother this bill in its crib. If it were to die in committee, then it would never have to be voted on. This would have been their best bet considering how in favor of privacy protection the vast majority of citizens are.
Luckily, the Rules Committee moved it forward and we will see a vote on this. It is predicted to pass. The final version of this bill is extremely similar to the regulations regarding privacy that the FCC just repealed. This means Californians would have to give their ISPs permission to use the data collected on them. It appears that it is up to states to protect our privacy interests if the Federal government will not. It does go further as well by banning pay-for-privacy schemes ISPs have attempted in the past.
Why This is so Important
The United States FFC, under the Trump administration, has made it abundantly clear that they side with corporate interests over the rights of citizens. Federal consumer protections are either non-existent or quickly being dismantled under the leadership of Ajit Pai. No citizen benefits from having their rights taken away from them, this only helps the large telecommunications companies further exploit your personal data and privacy for financial gain. For these reasons, it is dire that citizens make their voices heard by not only the Federal government but also local governments. If the Federal government is unwilling to preserve the rights of its citizens, state governments have to pick up that slack.
Hopefully what California is doing will create a sort of ripple effect and other states follow suit. Your data and your privacy should be yours. Remember, many of these companies already charge you for the privilege of using their infrastructure. You are buying a product and service from them, they should not make you their product.
As this story and others concerning data, privacy, and net neutrality arise, we will continue to inform our readers.