US President Donald Trump has outraged privacy campaigners – again – by repealing an Obama online privacy law, meaning Internet service providers will be able to share customer data without the need for consent.
The legislation was passed in October last year and was scheduled to take effect by the end of the year. But now, ISPs which fought the law – including Verizon, AT&T and Comcast – will be free to share browsing habits, app use history, financial data, location data, social security numbers and the content of communications.
They will also be able to sell the information directly to firms which mine personal data without consumers’ consent.
While search engines and social media platforms already collect data on consumers, obviously ISPs know more about a user’s online activities as they can view all of the sites they visit.
Evan Greer, campaign director from privacy rights group Fight for the Future, told the BBC: “Today Congress proved once again that they care more about the wishes of the corporations that fund their campaigns than they do about the safety and security of their constituents.”
The Center for Digital Democracy is also appalled. Executive director Jeffrey Chester told the Washington Post that the law change would mean US citizens would “never be safe online from having their most personal details stealthily scrutinized and sold to the highest bidder”.
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