215 House Republicans voted to give their opponents an extraordinarily easy attack ad in the next election, by passing a measure this evening that guts cable company privacy rules. The resolution overturns an Obama FCC rule that requires internet service providers like Comcast and Verizon to get your explicit permission before selling your personal data.Dana Liebelson has the details here. I don't know if rank-and-file Republicans knew what they were voting for or not, but I have a feeling many of them are going to come to rue this vote.
Trump may not know much about policy in general, but there's one specific law he has strong opinions on: the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, as this astounding New Yorker article on Trump Tower Baku in Azerbaijan makes crystal clear, suggesting that the main competitive advantage of his global real-estate empire may be its willingness to look the other way on corruption and violate the FCPA. So who has Trump nominated to run the SEC? The lawyer who has led the charge against the FCPA. I did a report for TYT on Jay Clayton you can watch here.
I also wrote a piece with Jen Bendery on how Democrats on going on offense on healthcare now, demanding that Trump and Ryan stop undermining the Affordable Care Act. If they don't, they're saying they'll refuse to help Trump pass an upcoming spending bill. And if Democrats don't help, Trump is likely looking at a government shutdown on April 28th.
Ten days before that, suburban Atlanta voters go to the polls in the first House special election in the Trump era. Deep in Republican territory, if Democrats flip it, it'll send shockwaves through Washington. Early voting started yesterday, and Alyssa Milano -- yes, Alyssa Milano -- has been in the area filming a pilot. So she and her co-actor hopped in the car and began driving people to the polls. Maybe it's a coincidence, but Dems are far ahead after the first day of early voting. Here's my story on her volunteer work. As trustworthy a reporter as I may be, this is a story where, you've really got to see the photos to believe it.It's worth the click.
House Republicans Vote To Let Your Internet Service Provider Share Your Web History
WASHINGTON ― House Republicans jammed through a measure on Tuesday overturning the Obama administration's rules that would have banned telecom and cable companies from sharing customers' personal information, including web browsing history, without their consent.
The House resolution passed 215-205, mostly on party lines. Its companion passed the Senate last week on a 50-48 vote. If President Donald Trump signs the measure into law, internet service providers will win a regulatory victory. But advocates say consumers can kiss network privacy goodbye.
"ISPs will be able to sell your personal information to the highest bidder ... and they won't have any real obligation to keep your personal information secure, either," Gigi Sohn, who previously served as counselor to former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler, said Monday.
The FCC adopted rules last October that required companies like Comcast and Verizon to get their customers' explicit permission before they could share "sensitive" data like Social Security numbers, or information pertaining to children or health. Under the rules — which are not yet in effect — companies also had to tell customers and law enforcement if a potentially harmful data breach occurred. (Verizon is the parent company of The Huffington Post.)
In a heated floor debate on Tuesday, House Republicans sought to paint the rules as an example of government overreach. "These broadband privacy rules are unnecessary," said Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who introduced the resolution.
But House Democrats warned that Republicans were scrapping common-sense privacy regulations — and predicted a dim future without them. Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.) pointed to a patent application from an ISP for a cable box that would detect whether people were cuddling on the couch through a thermal camera, then show them TV commercials for a romantic getaway or contraceptives. "That's what this bill will allow, and you can't turn it off," he said, calling it "terrible."
The measure uses the Congressional Review Act, which allows lawmakers to undo any regulation within 60 days of its finalization, while also barring agencies from writing a "substantially" similar rule after the original one has been overturned. That means the FCC could be banned from regulating ISP privacy issues in the future, said David Segal, executive director of Demand Progress, a grassroots group.
FULL STORY
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