US Internet Users’ Privacy is Up for Sale
In an unprecedented turn of events, President Donald Trump officially signed a bill into law this Monday, giving ISPs greater leeway to legally sell customers’ browsing habits with absolute disregard of their privacy.
The bill repeals a previous regulation passed in October last year by the Federal Communications Commission that gave consumers of ISPs greater control over how telecom giants like Verizon, AT&T and Comcast would share their information.
As per the FCC regulations, broadband companies would require permission from customers to use their “sensitive” data. Once they had permission, they could then target them with advertisements that were specifically positioned keeping in mind factors such as their geolocation, app usage, browsing history, buying habits, and financial and medical information.
Congress Says Trump’s Tax Returns Are Private But Your Internet Searches Aren’t https://t.co/rypjEUEcqO #InternetPrivacy #Trump #TaxReturns
— Thomas Reich (@gollum1419_g) March 29, 2017
Our nation’s #internetprivacy was sold for 700k. @MarshaBlackburn who wrote bill was paid 700k by Internet Service Providers. This is legal. https://t.co/z0Woz4egUi
— Margo Jones (@3DTruth) March 30, 2017
GOP & DEM voters are outraged about #Internetprivacy being lost.
All citizens should call WH, tweet @POTUS, & petition him to veto the bill.— ??☭?Apocalypse???? (@inartic) April 2, 2017
With the new bill in place, however, telecom, broadband and internet giants like Verizon, Google, Bing and Facebook would no longer need user consent to track what sites they visit. They can legally make logs of consumers’ sensitive data and sell it to the highest bidders.
Amidst an outcry from the American public, the bill has also attracted scathing criticism from Democrats, privacy groups and consumer advocates who have bashed the bill for its blatant violation of consumer privacy and cite it as an “example of government overreach”.
Last but NOT the least, hosts of late-night comedy shows have also joined the bandwagon, questioning Trump’s decisions and acumen (or the lack of it thereof) with a mix of satire and sarcasm.
American Users’ Data is Up for Sale!
ISPs have always been collecting data, but they have not been entirely open about it. Even if they have, they always claim to abide by privacy laws.
Now the real question here is what does this mean for the average Joe that uses the internet to search for memes? For starters, it gives ISPs complete control over their customer’s data and allows them to sell it to advertisers for financial gains.
But what is even more alarming is the fact that since ISPs have information regarding your daily activities, and even quite possibly your deepest darkest secrets, it goes against one’s right to privacy.
Simply put, ISPs can now sell their customers data, that too without their approval. This includes browser histories, app usage, health data and so much more.
Ivacy VPN Prevents ISPs from Monitoring and Accessing your Data
Taking the aforementioned ruling into account, several privacy advocates strongly advise internet users to start using VPNs.
All of this talk about #InternetPrivacy and #NetNeutrality… pic.twitter.com/wzBMsvSBCX
— ? Xtoff ? (@CrunkComputing) April 1, 2017
With Ivacy VPN in place, users can browse safely and without having to worry about being monitored. Additionally, with features like internet kill switch and military grade encryption, it is highly unlikely ISPs will ever benefit from customers data, as there will be none to steal in the first place. To make this possible, here is what you need to do:
1. Get Ivacy VPN
2. Download Ivacy VPN app for your device.
3. Select country or purpose, and click ‘connect’ to start browsing securely and anonymously.
If you too are concerned about your internet privacy, think no more, sign up with us today for absolute anonymity, security and internet freedom like never before.
