The FCC’s plan to kill net neutrality will also kill internet privacy

[Commentary] After Congress repealed the Federal Communications Commission’s broadband privacy rules two weeks ago, new FCC Chairman Ajit Pai promised the American people that he would ensure that the personal information they give to their Internet service providers would continue to be protected. Chairman Pai said that he planned to work with the Federal Trade Commission to “restore the FTC’s authority to police internet service providers’ privacy practices.” But this plan will not only fail to provide effective broadband privacy protections, it will come at the cost of eliminating the FCC’s net neutrality rules that prohibit ISPs like Comcast and AT&T from picking winners and losers on the internet. And there’s a real chance the FTC actually won’t be able to regulate ISPs at all.

[Gigi Sohn served as Counselor to former FCC chairman Tom Wheeler from November 2013 to December 2016.]