Congress takes first step to overturn Internet privacy rules

Congress took the first step Thursday to nullifying the new broadband privacy rules passed by the Federal Communications Commission last year.

The rules, which would have required Internet service providers to ask customers' permission to collect, use and sell personal information, were passed Oct. 27 by the FCC, then chaired by Democrat Tom Wheeler.

But Republicans are poised to overturn the rules entirely, using the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to dismiss regulations recently enacted by the previous administration with simple majority votes. The Senate voted 50-48 Thursday to overturn the rules, now the House must vote and, if its members pass the resolution, forward it onto President Trump.

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The FCC put "heavy-handed" rules on ISPs that were tougher than those on online content providers and other Internet industries that amounted to "bad regulation," said Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. on Wednesday.

But Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., called the Congressional Review Act "a blunt congressional tool" that would not only "wipe out thoughtful rules," but also prevent the FCC from reintroducing similar rules. He also echoed the concerns of many consumer advocates that nullifying the privacy rules would make it easier for ISPs to sell consumer data to marketers.

Flake,  who proposed the review of the rules, and Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., noted that the FCC — now chaired by Republican Ajit Pai — still handles some enforcement of consumer online privacy and there are other federal and state laws.

The FCC gained jurisdiction of consumer privacy on broadband networks after 2015's passage of net neutrality or Open Internet rules that designated ISPs as "common carriers," akin to traditional phone service.

Consumer advocates applauded then-Chairman Wheeler for shepherding an upgrade of consumer privacy for the online environment, putting the responsibility on ISPs to ask customers before using their information and preventing the sale of web browsing history, app usage and, eventually, usage of Internet of Things devices.

But Internet providers and other critics argued that the new regulations went beyond the scope of the FCC’s purview and placed on ISPs a higher burden of getting consumer consent than is borne by web sites and social networks.

The FCC ignored the FTC's framework "that already provides consumer protection to users' information, while enabling data-driven innovation," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, a trade group. "The Obama-era regulation threatens to undermine innovation and competition in the Internet ecosystem," he said in a statement after Thursday's vote.

However, the FCC rules did establish that there is "a set of consumer expectations that were being met," said Ryan Calo, a law professor at the University of Washington. "Now we go back to a place where (ISPs) really have to do something egregious to get caught," not to mention concerns about what agency has the authority, he said.

“It’s fair to say that the people who are happy about today's vote are Comcast, Verizon, Charter and AT&T and not consumers," Calo said.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.