Congress Allows Internet Service Providers to Sell Customers Browsing History to Strangers
According to a news article posted on BGR.com, the House of Republicans on March 28th, 2017 passed a bill that gave internet service providers permission to sell customers browsing history to advertisers. Passing this bill reverses the previous FCC (Federal Communications Commission) privacy rules which initially barred ISPs from sharing their customers’ information.
Even though the President is yet to sign this bill, already there are rumors that White House supports the bill and so there is a high chance that this bill will be signed into law. If that happens, the internet service provider will legally be able to collect and sell customer data without asking for their consent first just like the way Google and Facebook does.
Well, it is possible to avoid using Facebook and Google, by doing away with your ISP is a bit challenging and complicated since they already have tons of data about you such as the sites that you frequent. The data that they collect is by far more invasive than any other service provider in your life. For example, using your browsing data, one can be able to get a glimpse picture of your medical status, relationship, lifestyle, and financial information. Such information should be kept discreet and should never be shared with third parties without your consent.
Over the years, internet service providers have been trying hard to penetrate the multi-billion dollar online advertising business realm, and their efforts finally seem to bear fruits judging. They have promised that they will come up with standards to ensure that they do not jeopardize the lives of their consumers but with no organization to regulate them; this assurance is not guaranteed.
Is There a Solution to This Issue?
Luckily, there is a solution to this problem that you can use to ensure that your personal data is not shared with strangers and you are not bombarded with irrelevant and annoying ads everything you are online. Use reliable VPN software that not only masks your IP address but also does not register and store personal information such as browsing history. The VPN uses modern systems to encrypt data thereby making it impossible for the internet service providers to know where you are browsing from and the websites that you frequent.
By downloading such software, you will protect yourself from ads while online as well as prevent disclosure of personal information such as financial and medical information to third parties without your consent.
