Comcast Wants to Ban States from Protecting Privacy, Neutrality

Comcast is joining Verizon in urging the FCC to ban states that are trying to protect consumer broadband privacy and net neutrality. Earlier this year large ISPs paid lobbied the GOP and Trump administration to gut consumer broadband privacy rules. Lawmakers admitted they utilized the public's focus on losing health care to quickly dismantle the rules, which would have required ISPs be more transparent about what personal data is collected and sold, and required ISPs provide working opt out tools for those interested in privacy.

The rules were crafted only after Verizon was caught covertly tracking users around the internet and AT&T tried to make privacy a luxury option for an additional fee.

But when ISPs killed federal rules, numerous states decided to try and pass their own privacy laws protecting broadband consumers. That's why Verizon recently petitioned the FCC, urging it to use its authority to ban states from protecting your privacy. Comcast has also now following suit, and recently met with the FCC (pdf) urging it to crack down on state efforts to protect consumers.

"We also emphasized that the Commission’s order in this proceeding should include a clear, affirmative ruling that expressly confirms the primacy of federal law with respect to BIAS as an interstate information service, and that preempts state and local efforts to regulate BIAS either directly or indirectly," notes the meeting synopsis.

ISPs aren't just worried about states that are trying to pass privacy protections. They also want the FCC to ban states from trying to pass their own net neutrality protections after the FCC votes to dismantle federal rules (entirely at the behest of these giant companies) later this year. The end result: less oversight than ever over one of the least competitive and most-despised industries in America.

The moves by Verizon and Comcast are ironic, given they've repeatedly complained about the trampling of "states rights" when critics argue that states shouldn't be passing competition killing, protectionist state laws . When states actually, this concern about tramping states rights mysteriously disappears.