ISP Privacy Rules Create Contradictions, FSF Says
FCC ISP privacy rules will lead to confusion for consumers, the Free State Foundation said in a Friday post. The order, which establishes different rules for ISPs than for edge providers, is seen as likely to be overturned by the…
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Republican-controlled FCC (see 1611090034). “If a consumer who subscribes to Comcast chooses not to opt-in, it appears Comcast cannot collect information regarding that consumer's Amazon purchases because the data would be acquired through the Comcast-provided Internet connection,” wrote Michael Horney, an FSF research associate. “However, Comcast will be able to purchase that consumer's Amazon information either directly from Amazon or perhaps from the consumer's operating system and/or web browser. In other words, ISPs are allowed to purchase consumer information from edge providers, which are not subject to the FCC regulations, even though the edge providers have greater access to consumer information than ISPs.”