ALBANY, N.Y. – Assemblymember Monica Wallace’s bill to limit how Internet Service Providers can use personally identifiable information has moved closer to the Assembly floor for a vote.

The bill passed the Consumer Affairs and Protection Committee on June 5th by a vote of 14 to 2. Republican Assemblymembers Anthony Palumbo and Tom McKevitt from Long Island were the no votes. The bill will now move to the Assembly Codes Committee before reaching the Assembly floor.

Ms. Wallace says she introduced the bill after federal legislation reversed the FCC proposed rule that would have required consent over the use of customer data by ISPs.

“The internet is a necessity that has become a critical aspect of our everyday lives – from shopping to applying for jobs or loans, researching doctors and illnesses, to paying bills, we depend on it for so many things,” said Ms. Wallace.

“Access to this unprecedented breadth of information raises serious privacy concerns, which is why we need to act to protect costumers.”

The proposal would require a customer’s consent in order to share or use personal information which would include browsing history, financial information, communication content, usage, biographical information and other data that is specific to an individual consumer. It would also allow customers to opt out of the sharing of non-personal, aggregated information that is shared by the ISP.

A similar bill, S5516, was introduced by State Senator Timothy Kennedy and is in front of the Senate’s Consumer Protection Committee.