Several states are fighting to retain their residents’ internet privacy after Congress voted to overturn Obama-era rules that would have provided consumer privacy protections.
Despite widespread public criticism, federal lawmakers voted to remove the protections approved by the Federal Communications Commission in October to require service providers get consumers’ permission before collecting and sharing or selling their data. President Donald Trump signed the measure April 3.
Government Technology reports that these 10 states are working to pass legislation to protect their citizens’ online data from being sold to the highest bidder:
- Connecticut
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- Montana
- New York
- Washington
- Wisconsin
World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee — a renowned computer scientist and one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Important People of the 20th Century”– called the rollback of the internet privacy rules “disgusting,” reports The Verge. Berners-Lee tells The Verge:
“You have the right to go to a doctor in privacy where it’s just between you and the doctor. And similarly, you have to be able to go to the Web.”
You can take steps to protect yourself and your data from being sold by your ISP. As Money Talks News contributor Karla Bowsher writes, there are several free or cheap tools available to prevent third parties from tracking your online activity, including the following:
Find out more in “How to Shield Your Online Privacy From Harvesting by ISPs, Advertisers.”
Is your state trying to keep your internet browsing data private? Sound off below or on Facebook.
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