Published: January 2016

Calling on the FCC to establish online privacy rules

Consumer and privacy groups are calling on the Federal Communications Commission to extend strong privacy protections to broadband customers. The signers, which include ACLU, EFF, Free Press, Public Citizen and Public Knowledge, also encouraged the agency to work in coordination with the Federal Trade Commission to safeguard users against the unauthorized sharing of their online data.

Consumer Action joined 58 U.S. digital rights, consumer advocacy and privacy organizations in submitting a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler. In it, they urged the FCC to start a rulemaking process that would bar broadband providers from sharing the data they’ve collected on their customers’ online activities with other companies or organizations without the customers’ consent. The groups also want the FCC to establish rules that would hold providers responsible if their customers’ data is compromised due to a preventable data breach.

Lead Organization

Free Press

Other Organizations

Access
 | Broadband
American Association of Law Libraries
 | American Civil Liberties Union
| Appalshop, Inc.
| Ashbury Senior Computer Community Center
 | Benton Foundation
 | Broadband Alliance of Mendocino County | 
California Center for Rural Policy
 | CALPIRG
 | Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood
 | Caney Fork Headwaters Association
 | Center for Democracy & Technology
 | Center for Digital Democracy
 | Center for Rural Strategies | 
Center for Science in the Public Interest
 | Chicago Consumer Coalition
 | Children Now
 | Common Sense Kids Action
 | Consumer Action
 | Consumer Assistance Council of Cape Cod and the Islands of Massachusetts | Consumer Federation of America | 
Consumer Federation of California
 | Consumer Watchdog
 | Cornucopia Network NJ/TN Chapter
 | Electronic Frontier Foundation
 | Free Press
 | Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
 | Privacy Times | 
Public Citizen | 
Public Knowledge
 | World Privacy Forum
 | X-Lab

More Information

For more information, please visit Free Press.

Download PDF

Calling on the FCC to establish online privacy rules   (broadband_privacy_letter_to_fcc.pdf)