US telcos win fight against new data protection rules

United States regulators have indefinitely blocked data protection regulations for internet service providers in the face of industry pressure.

Earlier this month the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) agreed to repeal a 2016 privacy order that demanded ISPs take “reasonable measures to protect customer [data] from unauthorised use, disclosure and access".

The move was in response to a stay petition signed by some of the largest internet companies in the world, including AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Comcast, along with a host of smaller and regional providers.

The 11 companies called for a halt on the order, which was due to go into effect on 2 March, saying that there were already voluntary industry principles in place and the cost of complying with the order would be harmful to not just business but also customers.

The privacy order, made in October 2016 under the Obama presidency, apparently departs sharply from the Federal Trade Commission's privacy framework which, according to the petitioners "effectively balances the twin objectives” of customers' control over their own data and “beneficial uses of data that lead to innovation, new products and capabilities, customised services, and growth in the digital economy”.

The petitioners claimed that the order recommends several costly and cumbersome moves for ISPs including changes to companies' internal business structures, customer authentication methods, and information handling practices. In essence, compliance will be costly, especially for smaller providers and “wasteful and counterproductive to the public interest”.

The opposition to the petition argued that those claims of harm were theoretical or grossly exaggerated. A block on the privacy order would be against the public interest because ISPs lack market incentives to protect customer data.

The industry principles and the FTC privacy framework that the petitioners so admire, the opposition added, come without an enforcement mechanism, making compliance voluntary.

The blocking of the privacy order was welcomed by the two Republican commissioners of the FCC, with the one Democrat Mignon Clyburn, dissenting. 

This article originally appeared at scmagazineuk.com