Stop Trump from Signing Internet Privacy Bill

[Monk Brendan]

First of all, let me share a letter I just sent to President Trump:

Dear Mr. President,

I am absolutely opposed to the bill that will be reaching your desk from Senate and House about internet privacy.

Privacy in our country has always been a given. No unreasonable search and seizure without a search warrant is part and parcel of our constitution. However, now we find that the US government has decided to do away with such limitations as far as internet privacy is involved. This heinous act will make internet service providers able to mine and sell any and all data to anyone they choose, to make more money. The internet will be flooded with scams and ads that will be incredibly hard to block. And the ads won't only come via internet. This bill also collects addresses, phone numbers, and Social Security numbers, so the ads and scams will come via phone and snail mail.

I am a senior citizen living on a fixed (and very limited) income. I cannot afford to lose money, and data mined from the internet and sold for profit will put my finances at risk, as anyone will be able to take my Social Security number, apply for a credit card, and then charge it to me, leaving me with a mess on my credit report.

I am not the only one at risk. If they can sell my information, then they can sell yours, and your credit rating is obviously more important to you than mine is. I beg you, don't sign this bill! It is one of the few privacies that Americans have left.

Yours, etc.

This bill could affect most of the US Citizens on these fora, as each and every one of them uses the internet to communicate with this site.

Do you think that this is a bad law?

 

[GreekOrthodox]

I've been an IT professional for 17 years and this is a horrible invasion of our private information.

 

[Kevin Ambrose]

I agree this is a horrible concept and should be stopped immediately.

 

[more4less]

The bill passed 215 to 205, with 15 Republicans joining 190 Democrats voting against it.

The FCC rules would have given consumers greater control over what their internet service provider can do with their data by requiring those companies to get permission from customers before using their information to create targeted advertisements.

The rules had not yet gone into effect.
The bill, which passed the Senate last week in a party-line vote, invokes a law called the Congressional Review Act (CRA) that allows Congress to undo recently passed regulations. A CRA bill also prohibits agencies from passing similar regulations in the future.
House passes bill undoing Obama internet privacy rule

 

[rturner76]

I would love to hear conservatives defense for this maneuver. They try to say the Democrats are corrupt? How many (R) collected a check for passing this little jewel of the oligarchy?

 

[more4less]

 

[Dale]

Internet Privacy Bill? Isn't it the Internet Anti-Privacy Bill?


Telephone and internet scams are an enormous problem. Where I live the Sheriff's Department has a full time employee whose main job is to give talks warning senior citizens about them. Yet many members of the public are still very susceptible.


Here's a funny thing about privacy. If I try to get financial info about a corporation, a potential employer, for example, I am told that I don't have access. It is confidential. Yet a corporation has no feelings, no nervous system. A corporation cannot feel shame, embarrassment or guilt. Yet the privacy of banks, insurance companies and other companies is very well protected except for a few items the government requires them to report.

 

[Armoured]

Another proud entry in the "leopards eating people's faces" file.

 

[Greyy]

Of course it is a bad law.

Republicans support a lot of bad things, but they get their support by God and guns. You can't really argue or convince people of some things. People just have to wake up and realize they are treading in poo.

 

[Kevin Ambrose]

Of course it is a bad law.

Republicans support a lot of bad things, but they get their support by God and guns. You can't really argue or convince people of some things. People just have to wake up and realize they are treading in poo.

Do you think that's limited to Republicans?

 

[Kevin Ambrose]

Internet Privacy Bill? Isn't it the Internet Anti-Privacy Bill?


Telephone and internet scams are an enormous problem. Where I live the Sheriff's Department has a full time employee whose main job is to give talks warning senior citizens about them. Yet many members of the public are still very susceptible.


Here's a funny thing about privacy. If I try to get financial info about a corporation, a potential employer, for example, I am told that I don't have access. It is confidential. Yet a corporation has no feelings, no nervous system. A corporation cannot feel shame, embarrassment or guilt. Yet the privacy of banks, insurance companies and other companies is very well protected except for a few items the government requires them to report.

The government loves to unironically name bills in an Orwellian fashion. The "Affordable Healthcare Act" makes healthcare unaffordable. There's nothing patriotic about the "Patriot Act" the National Defense Authorization Act does nothing for defense. And so on.

It's all propaganda. Nothing more.

 

[Greyy]

Do you think that's limited to Republicans?

On the whole, I accept that Republican create a great deal more things harmful for Americans than the Democrats. The problem with politics is that people immediately side with political camps and ideologies. People are profoundly dedicated to politcal ideology, even to the detriment of themselves.

I believe that America, or any nation for that matter, has to accept one very simple truth to be great economically. It's very simple, but it's ripped apart along ideological lines.

Capitalism is great and can be a powerful economic force, but regulation of business is necessary to have a sustained economy and a path to greater economic equality that we all deserve.

 

[Far Side Of the Moon]

Its terrible, you did good by writing a letter, I should too.