Nothing has changed with internet privacy

A recent letter writer, who has jumped on the fake news bandwagon, has stoked fears that Congressman Glenn Thompson has voted to wipe out our internet privacy protection rights. That is patently false.

Historically, the Federal Trade Commission has been the top cop for internet privacy, data security and consumer protections. But in the final days of the Obama administration the Federal Communications Commission made a play to take over internet regulation.

Congress voted to restore jurisdiction to the FTC, which will continue to police the internet and protect consumers’ privacy. The bottom line: nothing has changed, your information will not be sold. Your Social Security number will not be given away and these protections are still backed up by existing law.

If the writer took the time to do some research, he would have realized this was accurately explained by local telecom provider Nittany Media in a recent op-ed (CDT, 4/5).

Thompson is a member of the House Privacy Caucus and has co-sponsored numerous bills to protect our rights. The vote in Congress wasn’t about whether your private information will be protected, but rather about which agency would continue protecting it. The FTC has traditionally protected consumers’ data and has hundreds of cases to back it up.

There’s a saying: “You can’t believe everything you read on the internet.” Maybe the author should do some offline research and stop making attempts to tarnish a good man’s name.

This story was originally published April 25, 2017 at 11:49 PM with the headline "Nothing has changed with internet privacy."