ISPs Inclined to Offer Web Browsing History of Users to Ad Companies

The new bill from Republican senators has opened the way for marketing the web browsing history of Internet users. There is no reason why ISPs do not sell such information over to advertisers to gain profit out of this.

Even though the decision has brought up significant privacy dilemmas, the truth is that selling personal information is now legal. However ambiguous this matter is, advertising companies can now access valuable pieces of information about potential target groups.ISPs Inclined to Offer Web Browsing History of Users to Ad Companies

Unlike the FCC (Federal Communications Committee), this legislation will not think twice before allow the sharing of such details. Can you imagine the impact of such liberty given to ISPs? Of course, this would mean a huge breach in the credibility of ISPs and a continuous feeling of mistrust.

On the other hand, already six Advertising Trade Associations have applauded the legislation. It goes without even saying that such actions make their own work a lot easier.

So this kind of reaction has been anticipated. To be more specific, the Advertising Trade Associations have issued a statement where they express their satisfaction:

“We wholeheartedly commend Senator Flake and Congressman Blackburn, and their Senate and House colleagues, for introducing resolutions of disapproval for the FCC’s ill-considered move to create a new, costly, counterproductive, confusing and unnecessary regulatory regime around privacy for broadband providers.

Our digital economy is the global leader, providing billions of dollars in ad-supported content and services to consumers, and the innovation and investment that have driven its success have rested on robust, consistent self-regulatory privacy standards backstopped by the Federal Trade Commission…”

In the near past, there was straightforward protection of the rights of Internet users. As a result, ISPs were obliged to safeguard their personal information.

With this upcoming legislation, it seems that such thinking has been completely been wiped out. The main focus is on advertisers and their rights.

Internet users are obviously concerned about the future of communication. They have been trying to come up with reliable ways to protect their information.

There are several methods out there to try out, including browser extensions, HTTPS and VPNs. Although the extensions are more of a temporary fix without guaranteed results, the use of a VPN is not. Instead, it is a solid way for people to protect against privacy breaches.

When using a VPN, your IP address is hidden. This means that your ISP cannot keep track of the pages you visit or the activities you engage in.

This is the cornerstone of privacy and anonymity, without a doubt. So even with more conservative, privacy-breaching legislation on the way, Internet users can still armor themselves.

Top/Featured Image: By Ethan Sherbondy / Wikipedia

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