Critics of repealed FCC law overreact

The Gazette discusses the Federal Communications Commission's broadband privacy rule with Ryan Radia. 

Ryan Radia, research fellow and regulatory counsel at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, writes that federal law still gives the FCC the power “to police 'unjust' or 'unreasonable' practices by broadband providers, including conduct related to data privacy.”

In 2016, a top FCC official said the agency had brought more than 150 “privacy and data security-related enforcement actions” annually.

Radia also notes ISPs typically have a privacy policy or terms of service that inform customers of the “circumstances in which it may collect and disclose subscriber information, including users' communications over the provider's network.” So customers aren't being tricked into anything, and should an ISP fail to abide by its policy, the company is subject to consumer lawsuits and potential prosecution by state attorneys general under existing state laws.

Read the full article at The Gazette.