Last week, the Federal Communications Commission proposed new privacy rules for Internet providers. The proposal was immediately praised by privacy advocates as \u201ca major step forward\u201d and lambasted by AT&T as an effort to place a \u201cthumb on the scale in favor of Internet companies.\u201d<\/p>\n
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler stopped by our offices to explain the proposal, which will be voted on by the commission later this year after a period of public comment. Here is what you need to know about the proposed rules.<\/p>\n
The new rules would prohibit Internet providers from sharing information with third parties about a customer\u2019s name, address, location and Internet activity, unless they have opted in to having their data shared.<\/p>\n
It is meant to provide the same level of privacy protection to Internet customers\u2019 data that companies must, by law, apply to telephone customers\u2019 data.<\/p>\n
The rules also broaden the types of data that are protected, Wheeler said. The old rules for telephone operators covered \u201cCustomer Proprietary Network Information\u201d \u2013 such as the duration and frequency of calls placed by customers and where they were placed from.<\/p>\n
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