Public Knowledge Joins Nearly 60 Consumer Groups Urging FCC to Protect Privacy
Public Knowledge Joins Nearly 60 Consumer Groups Urging FCC to Protect Privacy
Public Knowledge Joins Nearly 60 Consumer Groups Urging FCC to Protect Privacy

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    Today, Public Knowledge and nearly 60 other public interest groups sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler asking him to move forward with a rulemaking on Internet Service Provider privacy.

    In February 2015, the FCC reclassified broadband as a Title II telecommunications network in its historic net neutrality vote. At that time, the agency said it would require broadband providers to abide by the statutes on telecommunications privacy, sometimes referred to as “CPNI” or “customer proprietary network information.” The FCC declined to apply the existing privacy protections designed for telephone service to broadband and instead promised to hold an ISP privacy rulemaking to address this gap. Public Knowledge urges the FCC to keep its promise to American consumers.

    The following can be attributed to Meredith Rose, Staff Attorney at Public Knowledge:

    “Every bit of data that consumers access on the Internet passes through the hands of an Internet Service Provider. It’s this gatekeeper role that gives ISPs access to a vast amount of private data about their customers, and creates a substantial potential for abuse. We as consumers call on the FCC to open a proceeding to examine ISP’s access to, and use of, consumers’ proprietary information, and to ensure that users’ privacy is protected.”

    You may view the letter here.

    Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.