Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) Chairman Tom Wheeler has circulated to his fellow Commissioners a proposed Order that would govern privacy requirements for broadband Internet Access Service (BIAS) providers. According to a fact sheet released by the Chairman’s office, the proposed Order would impose a regime that differs from the three-tier usage-based privacy framework that was the central focus of the agency’s notice of proposed rulemaking earlier this year. The Order would instead embrace an approach that mirrors a 2012 Federal Trade Commission privacy report, which bases privacy obligations on the sensitivity of the information being used or shared.
ISPs would be required to obtain “opt-in” consent to use sensitive information, including health and financial information and web browsing history. Use and sharing of non-sensitive information would be subject to opt-out consent requirements in most cases. Customer consent is inferred for certain purposes — the provision of broadband service, or billing and collection for example. The Commission is scheduled to consider the proposed Order at its October 27 meeting.
