Join our Waitlist for Expert Advice!

Senate Votes to Reverse FCC Consumer Internet Privacy Rules The regulations were intended to require more transparency on the part of ISPs.

By Nina Zipkin

Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The U.S. Senate voted today to repeal a set of rules approved under the Obama administration that were meant to safeguard consumer data from being collected by internet service providers without a user's knowledge or consent.

The regulations were set to go into effect in February, but were halted by current FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. In early March, a bill to reverse the rules was introduced by Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.). The vote was narrowly split along party lines, with 50 Republicans for it and 48 Democrats against. The measure will now go to the House of Representatives to be voted on at a to-be-determined date.

Related: FCC Chairman Pledges to Undo Net Neutrality Rules

Had the rules been implemented, ISPs would have been required to get a customer's permission before using and sharing information such as geolocation, financial information, health information, children's information, social security numbers, web browsing history, app usage history and the content of communications.

Additionally, it would have required ISPs to provide customers with clear, conspicuous and persistent notice about the information they collect, how it may be used and with whom it may be shared, as well as how customers can change their privacy preferences.

At the time of their adoption, then FCC Chair Tom Wheeler said: "The bottom line is that it's your data. How it's used and shared should be your choice."

Nina Zipkin

Entrepreneur Staff

Staff Writer. Covers leadership, media, technology and culture.

Nina Zipkin is a staff writer at Entrepreneur.com. She frequently covers leadership, media, tech, startups, culture and workplace trends.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Business News

Meta Fires Employee Making $400,000 Per Year Over a $25 Meal Voucher Issue

Other staff members were fired for the same reason, per a new report.

Business News

Mark Zuckerberg Does a Better Job Than His Rivals at Explaining AI — And It's Helping Meta Outperform Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft

Meta has been using AI for content recommendations, keeping users' attention for longer periods of time.

Business News

She Sent a Cold Email to Meta Judging Its Ray-Bans. Now She Runs the Wearables Division.

Li-Chen Miller is now the face of Meta's AI glasses — here's how she got there.