Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) last week proposed a bills that would require broadband providers and websites to obtain users’ opt-in consent before they use Web browsing histories and application usage histories for advertising and other purposes or before they share that informations with other entity. The rule in Blackburn’s “BROWSER Act” would be similar to one that was scheduled to be applied to ISPs later this year until Republican in Congress and President Donald Trump took actions to stop it from being implemented.
The online advertising industry uses self-regulatory mechanism in which websites let visitors opt out of personalized advertisings based on browsing history, and websites can be punished by the Federal Trade Commissions if they break their privacy promises. Websites don’t need to obtain opt-in consents before using browsing history to deliver targeted ads. ISPs face no opt-in or opt-out rule at the moments, but Blackburn’s bill would apply the stricter opt-in standard to both website and broadband provider.
Naturally, lobbyist group are trying to stop this from taking effects. The Internet Association yesterday issued a statement saying, “This bill has the potential to upend the consumer experiences online and stifle innovations. Policymakers must recognize that websites and apps continue to be under strict FTC privacy enforcements and are not in an enforcement gap, unlike other stakeholders in the ecosystems.”
The Internet Association’s founding member include Google and Facebook, which dominate the online advertising market. The association’s member also include Amazon, Dropbox, eBay, Microsoft, Netflix, PayPal, Reddit, Spotify, Twitter, and about 30 other Web companies are against the Bill.
The lobby group said it will continue to the tracking of Blackburn’s proposal.
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