In individual statements this Friday, internet providers Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T pledged that they would not sell customers’ browsing history, just days after House Republicans voted to reverse privacy legislation enacted during the Obama years.
The GOP’s repeal of privacy laws sparked widespread backlash on social media, likely prompting the internet giants to clarify their position.
“We do not sell our broadband customers’ individual web browsing history. We did not do it before the FCC’s rules were adopted, and we have no plans to do so,” Comcast’s chief privacy officer Gerard Lewis said according to Reuters. Lewis added that Comcast is revising its privacy policy to reinforce that they “do not sell our customers’ individual web browsing information to third parties.”
AT&T said in their statement that it “will not sell your personal information to anyone, for any purpose. Period.”
From Reuters:
Republicans in Congress Tuesday narrowly passed the repeal of the [Obama era rules which had not taken effect yet] with no Democratic support and over the objections of privacy advocates.
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Under the rules, internet providers would have needed to obtain consumer consent before using precise geolocation, financial information, health information, children’s information and web browsing history for advertising and marketing. Websites do not need the same affirmative consent.
Some in Congress suggested providers would begin selling personal data to the highest bidder, while others vowed to raise money to buy browsing histories of Republicans.
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