Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Here’s How Much Internet Providers Gave Lawmakers Who Voted To Let Them Sell Your Data

House Republicans voted to overturn privacy rules Tuesday that were introduced by the Obama administration to prevent telecommunications and cable companies from sharing customers’ personal data without their consent or knowledge.

That data may include your web browsing history, Social Security number, information about your health and other sensitive details.

The Senate passed its version of the same bill last week. If signed into law by President Donald Trump, internet service providers will be able to collect and sell this sensitive information.

Unsurprisingly, many of the lawmakers who voted in favor of the bill have received campaign donations from companies or employees of companies that stand to benefit from it ― corporations such as AT&T, Verizon and Comcast. (Verizon owns AOL, which is The Huffington Post’s parent company.)

The Verge has a breakdown of exactly how much each member of Congress who voted to reverse the privacy rule received in donations from major players in the telecom industry in their last election cycle.

Some lawmakers, such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), received upward of six figures from the telecommunications industry. Others, however, received relatively paltry sums — in some cases, under $1,000. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who introduced the bill, received $27,955.

Head over to The Verge to see exactly how much each supporter of the bill received from telecom donors.

Flake and other Republican supporters of rolling back the Federal Communications Commission regulation, set to go into effect later this year, argue that doing so puts internet privacy back in the hands of providers and that ending the regulation will increase consumer choice.

Opponents, however, say the bill is bad for consumers.

“It’s special interest lobbying as usual,” Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy told The Huffington Post earlier this week.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.com/
Author: Mollie Reilly

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