Lobbyists for Google, Facebook, and other websites are trying to stop the implementation of a proposed law in the US that would strengthen consumer privacy protections online.
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) last week proposed a bill that would require broadband providers and websites to obtain users’ opt-in consent before they use Web browsing history and application usage history for advertising and other purposes or before they share that information with other entities. The rule in Blackburn’s “BROWSER Act” would be similar to one that was scheduled to be applied to ISPs later this year until Republicans in Congress and President Donald Trump took action to stop it from being implemented.
ISPs face no opt-in or opt-out rules at the moment, but Blackburn’s bill would apply the stricter opt-in standard to both websites and broadband providers.
Naturally, lobbyists are trying to stop this from taking effect. The Internet Association yesterday issued a statement saying, “Policymakers must recognize that websites and apps continue to be under strict FTC privacy enforcement and are not in an enforcement gap, unlike other stakeholders in the ecosystem.”
