Kristine Phillips

Rep James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI) told a town hall attendee who was concerned about the elimination of online privacy protections that using the Internet is a choice — a statement that has since drawn criticism on social media. During the meeting in Wisconsin, the attendee asked about the recent decision by Congress to wipe away an Obama-era policy that sought to limit what Internet service providers, such as Verizon, AT&T and Comcast, can do with customers’ Internet browsing history. The concern is similar to one raised by consumer activists: Not all Internet users have options to switch to a different company if they don’t agree with their current provider’s privacy practices. “Facebook is not comparable to an ISP. I do not have to go to Facebook,” the town hall attendee told Rep Sensenbrenner Jr. “I do have one provider. … I have one choice. I don’t have to go on Google. My ISP provider is different than those providers.”

In response, Sensenbrenner, who voted to scrap the Federal Communications Commission’s privacy rules that were set to take effect at the end of this year, said: “Nobody’s got to use the Internet. … And the thing is that if you start regulating the Internet like a utility, if we did that right at the beginning, we would have no Internet. … Internet companies have invested an awful lot of money in having almost universal service now. The fact is is that, you know, I don’t think it’s my job to tell you that you cannot get advertising for your information being sold. My job, I think, is to tell you that you have the opportunity to do it, and then you take it upon yourself to make that choice. … That’s what the law has been, and I think we ought to have more choices rather than fewer choices with the government controlling our everyday lives.” The congressman then moved on to the next question.

Speaking in front of Washington's top political journalists recently, Vice President Pence said he is — and has always been — an advocate of a free and independent press. He talked about his time as a radio commentator in the 1990s — a “Rush Limbaugh on decaf,” as he had been described. He also brought up his sponsorship of a federal shield law that would have protected reporters from having to testify or reveal their confidential sources. Pence sponsored versions of the legislation a few times when he was in Congress. Although the Free Flow of Information Act never became law, Pence's advocacy for the news media earned him praise from journalists, including an award from a newspaper association.

But while Pence does have a track record of supporting a free press and the First Amendment, that record is tainted and his stance on the public's right to know has become muddled, critics say. During his time as Indiana governor, for instance, Pence found himself rebuked by free speech and open-government advocates — once because of a widely criticized plan to create a taxpayer-funded news service, and again when his staff deleted Facebook comments that disagreed with his stance on same-sex marriage.