Brindisi pushes new legislation on heels of congressional vote that allows companies to legally gather and sell your most sensitive personal informaiton – like browsing history and location
Brindisi Working To Shield Mohawk Valley From Shocking Law Congress Just Passed; Law Allows Your Deeply Personal Internet & Browsing Info To Be Sold To Highest Bidder
Brindisi-Backed Legislation Would Protect New Yorkers’ Right to Internet & Browsing Privacy
Brindisi:We Can’t Sit Back When Congress Sells Off Our Deeply Personal Info To Corporations; We Will Fight This Locally
On the heels of a Congressional vote that now allows Internet Service Provider (ISP) companies like Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, and others to legally gather and sell a customers’ most sensitive personal information without their consent, New York State Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi is firing back and announced he is sponsoring legislation (A.07191) prohibiting those same Internet service providers from selling this kind of personal data in New York State.
“To think that private data from our iPads, laptops, and even the cell phones we carry is now fair game to some Internet Service Provider to sell off to the highest bidder just makes the stomach turn,” said Assemblyman Brindisi. “That’s why I will sponsor this law and send a direct message to these bottom feeder companies that are just simply not playing fair. A consumer should have to opt-in here, and not be told to sit back while their personal data is hijacked.”
Brindisi said deeply personal information like your browsing history, mobile phone location information and even financial data are private, and should stay that way. Brindisi discussed the legislation outside Best Buy in New Hartford, a store where many Mohawk Valley residents purchase computers, iPads and mobile devices that will now be a bridge to so much data for ISP’s to sell off.
On April 3rd, after Congress voted in approval, President Trump signed what’s known as ‘The Internet Privacy Bill,’ which under the rules, allows information such as one’s SSN, email contents, browsing history, precise geo-location, app usage, and health and financial information to be monetized by ISP’s like Comcast, Verizon, AT&T and others.
Shortly after its passage, polls showed that about 70 percent of Americans—Republicans and Democrats alike—opposed this action. The legislation Brindisi is sponsoring will prohibit Internet providers in New York from raising revenue by selling highly personal information to the highest bidder.
“Congress and the President have thrown the everyday consumer right under the bus. The majority of Americans believe their internet activities should remain private. With legislation like this, Internet Service Providers will be able to collect and sell deeply personal information about things like the web searches you perform, the websites you visit, and the apps you use. What if you’re sick and googling symptoms, or pregnant and googling medical tips? Or looking for a new job? Should a company know these things? I don’t think so. Corporations should not be able to make a buck through the disclosure of this personal information, without the written consent of Internet customers, Brindisi said.
Brindisi said the legislation, modeled after a bill recently introduced in Minnesota, applies to all Internet Service Providers with customers in New York State. Internet providers would have to take reasonable steps to protect consumer privacy, and the disclosure of customers’ personal information would only be allowed with the written consent of the consumer. He says there are a few reasonable exceptions in the legislation; for example, Internet providers would be allowed in certain cases to disclose personal information during the course of a criminal investigation.