U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) sent a public letter this week to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting a review of the potential harms in eliminating rules that protect consumers’ privacy rights.
Pallone’s letter comes in the wake of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai announcing he will seek a stay on some of the agency’s broadband privacy and data security protections. Currently, the FCC has the authority to adopt rules to regulate the privacy and security practices of internet service providers.
Pallone’s letter specifically asks the GAO to review a variety of issues, including what online companies collect and share data, what companies store online consumer information and how often they notify customers of data breaches, if consumers have meaningful control over their information, and what challenges consumers face when controlling their own sensitive information.
“With the near universal use of the internet, and the rapid expansion of connected devices, corporations now have more information about American consumers than ever before,” Pallone said. “Given the fluctuating state of the law and underlying threats to individuals’ privacy and security online, I request that the Government Accountability Office examine several topics related to privacy and security regulation.”
The Federal Trade Commission currently regulates web sites and can bring enforcement actions against certain hosts whose sites have unfair or deceptive security practices. The agency cannot currently adopt privacy rules.