Senate to take up internet privacy bill

On Tuesday, May 9 a Senate committee will hear testimony on a bill amendment that aims to increase privacy protections for internet browsing data.

Sen. Dan Feltes is sponsoring the amendment in reaction to a federal bill signed by President Trump in April.  That bill rolled back rules from the Obama administration that required Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to treat all internet browsing data as private personal information. 

According to a press release from Sen. Feltes, “This [new federal law] will enable these big corporations to profit from selling an individual’s browsing history, web searches, and financial information, and do so without any consent or authorization.” 

The Feltes amendment forbids ISPs operating in New Hampshire from disclosing “customer personal information,” including demographic data, web browsing history, “information pertaining to children,” and more. 

Many business advocates support the new federal law, however.  They argue the Obama administration rule was overly restrictive, and assert that browsing history should not require the same privacy protections as other personal information, such as a social security number. 

Others may oppose any attempt to regulate the issue at the state level.  ISPs operate on a national level and are burdened by a patchwork of different state regulations.

Should New Hampshire require ISPs to treat internet browsing history as private personal information?  Share your opinion in the comments below.