Maine’s congressional delegation has split over a proposal that halts internet privacy regulations set to go into effect later this year.
The bill on its way to President Donald Trump would allow internet providers like Comcast, Verizon and AT&T to monitor their customers’ online behavior, such as browsing history, financial information and location information. The providers could mine the information and sell the data or use it for highly targeted online ads — an industry worth an estimated $83 billion.
U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, both Republicans, voted to halt the privacy regulations. Both argued the Obama administration rule treated online companies differently, allowing Google and Facebook to collect online information while prohibiting others like Comcast from doing so.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree and independent U.S. Sen. Angus King voted against the rollback.
Annie Clark, a spokeswoman for Collins, said in an email that the rule “did nothing to enhance Internet privacy because it exempted ubiquitous entities like Facebook, Google, Netflix, and Amazon.”
Clark also noted that President Obama’s former head of the FTC, Jon Leibowitz, opposed the proposed regulations.
“Senator Collins would support sensible privacy protections that apply consistently to all providers,” she added.
Poliquin, in a written statement, said the privacy ruled created “a misleading sense of security for users.”
“The FCC can only monitor a segment of the internet, leaving out huge swaths of the web they would not be able to administer. Creating rules enforced by the FCC would apply regulations to only a specific segment of the industry, while giving an unequal advantage and preference to a handful of companies who wouldn’t be under their jurisdiction,” he said.
The rules were considered a landmark step in developing internet privacy standards. But Republicans in Congress have argued that the rules give a false sense of privacy while creating an uneven regulatory playing field for internet companies.
Search engines like Google and Facebook already collect usage data, such as search history and browsing data. Those two companies are exempted from the rule, which would be overseen by the Federal Communications Commission.
Supporters of the rule argued that the same protections for telephone service should be applied to internet service providers like Comcast and AT&T. Eliminating the rule will allow the two companies to sell their collected customer data to marketers and financial firms.
Consumer protection advocates contend that internet service providers — also known as ISPs — know far more about their customers’ online behavior than companies like Google and Facebook. They also say customers may be able to avoid sites that don’t meet their privacy standards, but the same option isn’t available when picking an ISP because the number of providers is limited and based on where a customer lives.
Supporters of eliminating the rule counter that Google and Facebook are so widely used that the assertions that ISPs somehow access more customer information is false.
ISPs like Comcast and AT&T have been angling to get into the lucrative online advertising market for years. Comcast has spent over $30 million lobbying members of Congress, while AT&T has spent over $32 million. The two companies have contributed over $17 million to congressional candidates in both parties, with Republicans receiving an edge in donations.
The rollback proposal is expected to be signed by Trump, who has frequently championed deregulation policies.
