WASHINGTON, DC - Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta (R-OH) today sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman (FCC) Ajit Pai regarding consumer privacy. In the letter, signed by 50 Republican colleagues, Walden, Blackburn, and Latta direct the FCC to continue ensuring that ISPs fulfill their promises to consumers regarding their use of data until the FCC remedies the Title II reclassification, which incorrectly removed ISP’s from the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Walden, Latta and Blackburn write, “Protecting consumer privacy while allowing for innovation has been critical to American innovation. Maintaining an environment that permits innovation without sacrificing consumer privacy is critical to our nation’s future prosperity and the creation of new consumer services."
In the letter, members point to Section 201 and 202 of the Communications Act of 1934 as providing the authority to follow the FTC’s approach and protect consumer privacy. They continue, “The FTC’s time-tested approach to privacy has protected Americans’ since the dawn of the Internet. An FCC approach that mirrors the FTC will continue to protect consumers in this tumultuous time."
