Telecom Lobbyists Have Stalled 70 State-Level Bills That Would Protect Consumer Privacy

After Congress repealed Federal Communications Commission rules that required internet service providers to get permission from customers before collecting their data and selling it to advertisers. ISPs Comcast and Verizon assured everyone that they had no intention of selling their customers’ internet histories. In the wake of that repeal, about half of the country’s states chose not to take the ISPs at their word, and began crafting their own legislation to restore the FCC’s rules within their borders. The National Conference of State Legislatures shows close to 70 bills on state dockets in 2018. So far, not a single one has passed. The reason, according to online-privacy experts, is the lobbying muscle of the telecom and internet industries. “Companies have a lot more resources to send in lobbyists to argue against these bills,” said Natasha Duarte, policy analyst at the Center for Democracy and Technology. “Especially when we're talking about state legislatures, things move really quickly.”