Sen Flake Opposes FCC Broadband Privacy Proceeding

I write in opposition to your proposed rule, “Protecting the Privacy of Customers of Broadband and Other Telecommunications Services.” I believe the rule is flawed as a matter of law and policy. It is unnecessary and its existence only made defensible by the [Federal Communications Commission’s] unprecedented reclassification of broadband Internet service providers under Title II of the Communications Act. Worse still, in seeking to solve a problem the FCC created, the rule does so in a burdensome and unconstitutional way…. I am attaching to this letter my comments on the proposed rule. The proposed rule has numerous substantive problems but I would like to focus on the foundational problem with the proposed rul’s opt-in requirement for ISP use of so-called proprietary information. It appears to me to be an unconstitutional restriction on commercial speech.