Almost 300 of our elected officials in the US Senate and the House of Representatives just sold a whole bunch of constituent Information to companies that you more than likely rely on for your internet service. The sad part? Turns out our "valued" information isn't exactly worth that much. According to The Verge, the FCC privacy rule that Republicans in Congress recently overturned has given Internet Service Providers renewed authority to use, distribute, and sell your data. Additionally, those same Members Of Congress are now, too, able to benefit off of your private information.
The average selling point was between $50-60K, with the highest price being a little less than $300,000, and the lowest hovering somewhere near $500. As in, less than $1,000. Yes, a good amount of constituent information in certain districts was sold for about the same amount as a weekend hotel stay.
Money over morals?
Ironically, instead of looking out for the interests of their constituents, it seems our representatives are doing the exact opposite. I don't know about you, but I certainly was not asked if I was okay with someone financially benefiting off of something of mine, especially something that was supposed to be private. I thought taxes took care of Congress members' compensation, and didn't know my data was their additional funding.
Some of the senators sold you out for the biggest paydays ($80K+) Were you a victim?
The reasoning behind selling constituent information was hard to follow, as it was chock-full of empty phrases like "free markets" and "consumer choice." It seems a bit illogical to assume that constituents willingly chose to part with their information only to make someone else's pockets fatter, but leave it to Congress to rely on hollow platitudes to pacify deep concerns.
Cause for major concern
It's no secret that your personal data has been the catalyst for some suit and tie's bonus for years now. That much is old news. But the fact that under this new administration, privacies that were meant to be protected by the government are now not as "protected" as they once were should raise some eyebrows.
Big ISP's like AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon are also some of the deeper pockets when it comes to funding certain members of Congress. Should we be worried that our government officials may potentially be letting big money and big business influence them a little too much?
