Ban on ISP Pay-for-Privacy Plans Should Stay in Calif. Bill, EFF Says
California lawmakers should keep a proposed ban on pay-for-privacy plans in state ISP privacy legislation (AB-375), Electronic Frontier Foundation Legislative Counsel Ernesto Falcon blogged Tuesday. Several state senators are asking sponsor Assemblymember Ed Chau (D) to “further amend the legislation…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
to more tightly conform to the FCC’s rules” that were repealed by President Donald Trump, Falcon said. But the only major difference is that the bill bans ISPs from asking customers to pay for privacy, he said. “Since the FCC decided to not ban pay-for-privacy schemes outright and Congress went further by impairing the agency’s ability to protect consumer privacy, AT&T appears to be contemplating bringing back its privacy tax on already high subscription fees,” Falcon said, citing a recent C-SPAN interview with AT&T Senior Executive Vice President-External and Legislative Affairs Bob Quinn (see 1706220053). “If A.B. 375 becomes law though, those plans will never hit Californians.” The Legislature must pass the bill by Sept. 15 (see 1707240033).