EVGA Mods please do not ban this thread for 'political content' - I am removing anything party specific in this post, and I would ask that members refrain from mentioning specific political parties if you chose to add your thoughts to this thread, because although the internet privacy laws were just repealed by our elected politicians, this is something that will impact every single internet user in America regardless of political views or affiliation. Again, I will remove political party and names wherever it occurred when paraphrasing various published articles. I am somewhat amazed there has been no discussion of this yet on the forums (unless it's moved onto another page), but the mainstream media have kept it relatively low key, probably because they stand to benefit from this change.
 
So the privacy laws as they were set up were intended to give consumers extra control over their personal data online, and would require Internet service providers (ISPs) to get your permission before collecting and sharing your data. Under the law as it was, ISPs would also have been required to notify customers about the types of information collected and shared, with some ability to opt out. These ISPs store data on your web browsing history, app usage, geo-location for mobile devices, your email, downloads, uploads, purchases, phone numbers, addresses, contacts, billing details, what media you watch, possibly social security numbers, financial data, your MAC address which makes you individually identifiable, in fact pretty much every last thing you do on the internet. For most it is not a question of legality of what they do online, it is that ISPs will monetize this data by effectively handing over the customer's personal information to the highest bidder, and these same ISPs will not be responsible for how that data is used, even if it is fraudulently used. This data may include personal and/or intimate 'private' conversations or contacts, prescription medications one may be ordering online, personal purchases that may be sensitive for some, or just idle chat - regardless, this is effectively invasion of privacy in your own home.
 
Last week, the Senate voted to not only reverse these laws protecting our privacy, but also to stop them ever being put in place again by the FCC. Today, Tuesday March 28th, 2017, Congress also voted to repeal these Internet privacy protections. The resolution now goes to the desk of the POTUS to sign off on, and the White House has already said it "strongly supports" the repeal.
 
The repeal is a big win for large ISPs like AT&T, Verizon, Comcast etc. - they have bet billions on content, including AT&T's pending acquisition of Time Warner, the parent company of CNN (which is an indication of why mainstream media isn't up in arms about this). These huge ISPs also spend vast sums of money on lobbying politicians - that says plenty right there - many might consider this flat out corruption.
 
Opponents of the privacy rules used the argument that the laws would place an undue burden on ISPs while leaving large Internet companies like Facebook and Google free to collect user data without asking permission (their argument was effectively that it wasn't fair on ISPs and made it an uneven playing field). What these opponents ignore is that Facebook and Google are free services that have some user options for privacy control, have limited access to user's data and online activities, and there are numerous rival services available to easily switch to at any time if we chose not conform to their data sharing policies. ISPs on the other hand are services we pay for and therefore should expect a certain level of privacy with our data, they have much MUCH deeper penetration of our online data and activities (in fact ALL of it), and furthermore many Americans have little to no options for ISPs in their given location. Rather than apply similar privacy protections to businesses like Facebook and Google to make it an even playing field, our government voted to scrap the rules entirely! That just reeks...
 
Sadly the apathy inherent in the average American voter is such that our representatives can get away with pandering to the wants of a handful of large corporations and all their many millions of dollars of lobby funds over the privacy rights of the roughly 350 million individual voters who call America home.
 
It is simply disgusting.
 
On a related note, VPNs (virtual private networks) may help protect user privacy - the Opera browser I believe is currently the only well-known and reputable free browser that includes built-in VPN for free (plus ad-blocker and a few other services), so I may be giving that a try soon just out of sheer annoyance that my ISP is selling my private data - hell, I'm already paying them near $200/month for their services, and that's not enough for these greedy prats??? There are many other VPN services out there - some free, some not, some too technical for most users, many are somewhat cumbersome, many are not very clear on exactly what they do and don't protect, and apparently some actually serve purely as a front to gain access to your data and then sell it! Do your due diligence.
 
If you ever happen to meet your local representative, you might want to give them a piece of your mind about exactly who they are supposed to be serving.
 
/rant. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Ack, closed all the tabs now sorry, some were from reading my GooglePlay Newsstand on the way home, The Verge, CNN now have it front page (wow!), Drudge Report had it, there are a number of tech sites running it - all say pretty much the same thing as I wrote in one way or another ...also I don't want to get the thread locked/deleted for linking to "political content" (yeah I know...).
 
Clearly if the powers that be were that concerned about a level playing field while still keeping the best interests of the American people in mind, they would have just applied the same rules to all internet content (under US jurisdiction at least) - that 'level playing field' malarkey is a load of bull pucky, nobody sane is believing that for one moment. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

pcmaster00

Nereus
 
Ack, closed all the tabs now sorry, some were from reading my GooglePlay Newsstand on the way home, The Verge, CNN now have it front page (wow!), Drudge Report had it, there are a number of tech sites running it - all say pretty much the same thing as I wrote in one way or another ...also I don't want to get the thread locked/deleted for linking to "political content" (yeah I know...).
 
Clearly if the powers that be were that concerned about a level playing field while still keeping the best interests of the American people in mind, they would have just applied the same rules to all internet content (under US jurisdiction at least) - that 'level playing field' malarkey is a load of bull pucky, nobody sane is believing that for one moment.

What I meant is I understand the idea that they own the data lines, so why can't they use what goes across it.  I don't agree with this when it comes to the internet, but I understand the principle.  What scares me more is I am really afraid of net neutrality going by the way side.  The "fast lanes" type of charges either to the end user or to the content providers is what I am referring to.  Also the potential for "slowing down" or even blocking parts of the internet for contradictory political views.  The internet is a bastion of free speech and this the start of breaking that concept.

If ISPs get permission from subscribers to use their personal data, then fine, OR if ISPs provide free service in exchange for invasion of privacy unfettered use of personal data, then ok, providing there is a paid option if users don't want their private data made public ..although that might sound a little bit like extortion, but would at least be reasonable compared to "we are taking your cake and eating it too". The fact is that internet access is a necessity for most people now in order to conduct business and go about their daily lives, facebook is not. Comparing the two as a reason to repeal privacy laws is patently ridiculous, that's what I meant by the malarkey comment. It's akin to saying hey, if you want to use the public water supply, besides already paying for it, you also have to let the water company open all your mail and listen to all your phone calls and sell whatever data they may gain from it, whether you like it or not, because there's only one water company and you need water, so screw you and your privacy. Just because they provide a mostly necessary service (and are well paid for it) does not mean they have a right to abuse it, particularly when they operate in what is mostly a geographic monopoly. ISPs own the data lines sure, but they do not own my personal data, and I pay to use their lines already, so they should pay me to use my personal data - assuming I would want to sell it, which I do not.

Would not be at all surprised if Net Neutrality is the next to go - in fact I'll be surprised if it doesn't now this precedent has been set. Free speech? You think ISPs give a single solitary fudge about your free speech? lol. There is one thing and one thing only they care about - more money. We have just been forced onto a steep and slippery slope and betrayed by those who were elected to serve us, and there's usually only one direction from here.


 
 
 

Good read.
Even if one is doing nothing malicious online, it is still very bothersome to have ads shoved down their throat at every turn. If I browse a guitar I am looking at, that is all that pops up on the side of my email along with everything else even long after I bought the guitar. I agree that while vpns are great in theory, most of them are complicated to understand or to set up. DNS leaks and whatnot... what the heck!?!?!?
  If I am doing something that I would rather not shout to my ISP, (or anyone else), I have been using Sumrando for years now, along with a vpn kill switch. While you could battle for days on what most people do with this set up or something similar, is a different can of worms. I will just say that I have had zero problems using this although it is a bit of a hassle to do.

I was reading about this last night and I think it might pave the way for things in the future that are even more intrusive.  I was listening to a radio program this morning and it was amazing to me the number of people that were calling in that were "OK" with this because it was going to "protect" us.  The general public are getting the idea this has to do with counter terrorism and not the data mining / advertising that it really is - and they still continued to call in after the radio host explained it in laymen's terms.  We've got to get to the point where ignorance is not an acceptable excuse!
 
It's getting to the point where even ad-blockers are becoming useless.  I can't count the number of web pages I have visited in recent months where you're restricted from viewing the page due to ad-block.  Besides, an ad-blocker will prevent you from seeing the ads but it will NOT stop the ISP from mining the data and selling it anyway.  I just signed up for NordVPN which I got pretty cheap for $79/2 years.  I plan to start using it at home and see how it works out.  Plus I just switched ISPs and I think that they are throttling YouTube specifically because I can pull 80MBps down but can only stream 144p...  This ties into this bill and the whole net neutrality thing.

Thanks for calling attention to this. I have been reading up on this for the last few years. You covered the points well, but I would suggest that everyone research this and not think it is "fake news" or "alternative facts." Regardless of whether we have been before or not, having the ability to opt out of these things is important. These guys make too much money as it is and then to stop the net nuetrality is going to create problems in addition to this. Soon we will be paying extra for faster Netfix speeds. Insane.

I use a VPN ever since I heard of this a couple of years back and was reading up on net nuetrality. I use something called Private Internet Access. It is an annonymizer. You can select any server in the world they have and no one will know where are are located. I love it. I pay a fee annually (it is more than maybe most want to pay, but I like the service), as I even use it on my phone now. Too much big brother to not take some precautions. This service actually helps to maximize your speeds. I am very pleased with the service, as you get what you pay for.

The days of free internet services are over. We will reminisce about those good 'ol days very soon.

They say every text, msg, phone call, post on some forum or any and all communications are being collected.
They're building giant facilities in several states to warehouse all this data.
No one is safe from this privacy intrusion.
Time to go back to using carrier pigeons.

Someone should make a browser addon that will poison the information collected. Have it visit safe sites at random. Let advertisers buy worthless data.
 
Speaking of loss of privacy, EVGA makes it easy for Facebook/Twitter to track everyone on it's website and forums. They care more about making it easier for them to share stuff on social media, than they do about protecting our privacy.
 
 
 
 

Privacy in this so called modern world, unless you got big money, your a nobody with no privacy....

I think this is way overblown, no ISP is going to sell your info. Even if feds say it is ok, your state can protect you.
That would kill their business. It would be a selling point to say " Hey we do not collect or sell your info" That could bring in more money than what they get selling it.
You are already being tracked, go shop for something ,then go to facebook or some other web page; there you will see ads for what you just were looking at on the other page you left.
I looked over my ISP TOS and they only will turn over info under court order, or if you are dealing in child porn, then they will turn you in.
As it should be the way they do business.
If unions are people and can give/donate money, the corporations should be able to do it too.
Whats good for the goose is good for the gander.

bill1024
I think this is way overblown, no ISP is going to sell your info.

They already did - until these laws came in. Of course ISPs are going to sell info if it's perfectly legal to do so and they can monetize it, lol! The sheer volume of data for advertising business alone is a literal goldmine. In 2016, Google's total revenue amounted to UD$89.5 Billion, that revenue is largely made up by advertising revenue, which amounted to US$67.39 Billion in 2015 [source]. An ISP has access to far FAR FAR more data than Google is able to mine - you seriously think they won't take advantage of possibly hundreds of BILLIONS of dollars worth of data???? LMAO of course they will!!! Why do you think the 4 main ISPs shelled out multiple millions of dollars in campaign donations on both sides of the aisle in 2016 alone? Altruism? LOL!
 
 

I skipped through everyone's posts as I'm too impatient to read them atm but will do once I calm myself down some more.  Been a long day on hangover Thursdays. 
 
I'm against "Net Neutrality" because it will become a bureaucratic mess if it hasn't already and too much power being centralized.  They basically use this as a tactic.  For example, they package a bunch of bad things together and than stamp it with a nice thing and so when it doesn't pass, they have something to fall on and blame everyone for. 
 
Ever since "Net Neutrality" was passed, I noticed my ISP has been throttling me.  No, I'm not even half way to my data cap either.  I have a multi-screen setup and sometimes I'll game on center screen, run comcast TV on the left and run browsers and youtube videos on the right.  I NEVER had issues for the last few years with running all of that till "Net Neutrality" got passed.  I feel ripped off or something.  I can't explain the feeling other than feeling frustrated because something must be going on.  I can't even play a simple short video on youtube while gaming.  It's complete and utter madness.  I've called my ISP and complained and they're basically clueless on what to do since nothing was changed on my account.

-Rant End. lol

You have already been tracked for years. Am I happy, no, but what are you going to do? Throw money at a VPN? I looked into them, then decided it's not worth the hassle. As long as they don't start messing with Personally Identifiable Information and Sensitive Personal Information then they can pretty much do what they want. The moment they start doing stuff with your SS, CC, Tax, and other data that is a part of you they are going to start getting into big trouble. So if they get money off of me looking for a new matress oh well. Oh wait, I have already been getting those ads months after I have already bought one. Looking for a new car? Strange, all of those mattress ads are now turning to car ads. I might give a VPN a try if things get stupid, but for now, just keep an eye on your ISP privacy section.

Just found this from my ISP lol. Explains my ads.
https://pc2.mypreferences...tedDigitalMarketingAds

I hear the ideas people are tossing out about if the ISP is going to mine my data and sell it my bill shouldnt exist. 
 
Yeah...see how well that goes. $1000 says they introduce that and less than a year later they start doing crap like "Watch this ad while we fetch the site you requested"
 
Think streaming services with repetitive ads are annoying now, wait till you literally cannot browse the internet without being forced to watch that levis or snickers commercial 45 times in two hours.
 
It also wouldn't surprise me to see them pad their profits from this by blocking IKE packets to foreign countries so that they kill the VPN to another part of the world with better internet rules movement.

bill1024
I think this is way overblown, no ISP is going to sell your info. Even if feds say it is ok, your state can protect you.
That would kill their business. It would be a selling point to say " Hey we do not collect or sell your info" That could bring in more money than what they get selling it.
You are already being tracked, go shop for something ,then go to facebook or some other web page; there you will see ads for what you just were looking at on the other page you left.
I looked over my ISP TOS and they only will turn over info under court order, or if you are dealing in child porn, then they will turn you in.
As it should be the way they do business.
If unions are people and can give/donate money, the corporations should be able to do it too.
Whats good for the goose is good for the gander.

I remember some ISP's offering special offers on packages, if you used it's browser plugin, the internet package would be lower.  
 
You can block advertisers tracking you, even block facebook tracking non-users around the net with browser addons.