While the GOP suffered a major setback today with the indefinite tabling of the party’s proposed Obamacare replacement, bringing Republicans nearly to tears over just how unfair it was that they couldn’t condemn millions of Americans to bankruptcy and premature death just to spite former President Obama, not all is lost in the heartless world of conservative politics this week. Yesterday, the U.S. Senate voted to allow internet service providers to share their customers’ private information, including their web browsing histories, without their permission. The reason? Money, of course.
The vote was to overturn privacy rules passed last year by the FCC requiring ISPs like Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T to obtain permission from customers before sharing their private information. This was apparently deleterious to ISPs’ ability to sell customer data for targeted ads, prompting the Senate to spring into action to protect the poor, beleaguered telecom giants’ profits. The vote not only allows the Congressional Review Act to block the recently-passed rule, but prevents the FCC from ever passing similar privacy rules in the future.
The vote must now pass the House before the rule is officially knocked out. If you aren’t cool with your ISP selling your private data—and let’s face it, Google searches can get extremely private sometimes—you can find your representative’s name and how to contact them here. Oh, and a friendly reminder: Even in private browsing mode, data still passes through your ISP.