Despite strong criticism, President Donald Trump signed a repeal yesterday of internet privacy rules. The campaign director of the nonprofit internet rights group Fight for the Future, Evan Greer, put out a statement to Newsweek, saying that Donald Trump's campaign promise to “drain the swamp” turned against him, and the swamp drained him instead.
Greer says he intends to place the names of Congress members who voted to overturn Obama's bill on a billboard. He says repealing the bill puts internet users at greater risk of being hacked and of identity theft by allowing Americans' personal information to be exposed.
Congress supports overturning privacy law
On March 28 Congress supported overturning the privacy protection law signed by former president Obama. Trump's repeal now allows internet providers to share personal information – without consumer consent – with third parties and advertisers.
Four years ago polls showed that Americans were against sharing their personal information with United States counter-terrorism investigators. According to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released Tuesday, Americans were more hesitant to share their personal information – even to help foil terror plots – than they were four years ago.
Facebook and Google not restricted by same law
AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon all supported the dismantling of the internet privacy protections.
They all claim that Facebook and Google were not restricted by the same rules of how to handle their user data. The Federal Communications Bureau (FCC) says the overturning will increase competition, making it fairer for internet providers. Stating that both Trump and Congress acted correctly when revoking the Obama-era plan.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai went on to say that the old privacy rules never did go into effect, and only favored a small group of companies, not online consumers.
It seems rather ironic that Donald Trump made such a big deal when accusing former President Barack Obama of tapping his phones in Trump Tower -- outraged over his own privacy being violated, but perfectly fine with the privacy of the American People being violated.
