Mike Snider

USA TODAY

The U.S. House of Representatives is set Tuesday to overturn buffed-up broadband privacy rules that the Federal Communications Commission approved just days before President Trump's election.

Why should you care? Well, depending on your position on the political spectrum, the repeal of these regulations reflect a double-cross of the previous administration's FCC to improve consumer privacy protections or a return to balance in the online marketing playing field.

Consumer advocates are loudly voicing concerns that should the rules be overturned, Internet service providers (ISPs) such as Comcast and Verizon will "have the right to track us while we are online and gather private information – including information about where we are, our finances, our health status, and much more – and sell it to marketers without our permission," said Robert Weissman, president of advocacy group Public Citizen, in a statement in advance of the vote.

But proponents of less government regulation contend that the FCC, then led by Democrat Tom Wheeler, overreached in passing rules that put ISPs at a disadvantage against Web sites and apps "that, in fact, collect far more personal information," said Randolph May, president of The Free State Foundation, a free market think tank, after the Senate voted last week to nullify the rules.

Those rules, passed Oct. 27, would have required ISPs to ask customers' permission to collect, use and sell personal information. Most of the provisions do not go into effect until later this year.

And they likely never will. Now that Republicans are in power, Congress -- and new FCC Chairman Ajit Pai -- are quickly targeting regulations they consider to be overly burdensome and anti-business.

Last week, the Senate voted 50-48 to overturn the broadband privacy rules using the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to dismiss regulations recently enacted by the previous administration with simple majority votes.

The House, which like the Senate is led by Republicans, is expected to vote Tuesday afternoon and if its members, as expected, pass the resolution, it will be forwarded onto President Trump, who is expected to sign it into law.

The opposition has tried to rally public outcry over the last day or so with several groups including Color of Change, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Free Press using Twitter to urge voters to contact their House representatives. "The space our communities have claimed online is so vital in this moment & movement. We must keep it safe, open & secure," tweeted Rashad Robinson, executive director of Color Of Change.

Net freedom group Fight for the Future said it plans to put up billboards with names of all congressmen who vote to overturn the privacy rules. “These billboards are just the beginning," said Evan Greer, the group's campaign director. "People from across the political spectrum are outraged, and every lawmaker who votes to take away our privacy will regret it come election day.”

What do the FCC's broadband privacy rules do?

ISPs would be required to obtain “opt-in” consent from consumers to use and share sensitive information such as health and financial information, children's information, geo-location, Web browsing and app usage histories, and Social Security numbers. ISPs could not refuse service to customers who would not opt-in. Other less sensitive information could be used on an opt-out basis.

Why did the FCC pass the rules?

Then-Chairman Wheeler sought to strengthen consumers' privacy protection in advance of coming tech advances including the Internet of Things, a growing variety of Net-connected devices including appliances and wearables. "The more our economy and our lives move online, the more information about us goes over our (ISP) – and the more consumers want to know how to protect their personal information in the digital age," he said at the time. The new rules give consumers more say in how their personal data would be used, Wheeler said.

The rules also required Net providers to maintain data security to protect consumer data. Without the rules, ISPs' potential use of users' browsing data will undermine cybersecurity, the EFF says.

Why would ISPs fight the rules?

Up until now, ISPs have not really tried to monetize consumer data, but these rules would make it harder should they want to become bigger players in "the lucrative online advertising market," said Hap Rigby, a senior policy advisor at Wiley Rein, a law firm in Washington, and a former advisor to Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. As long as ISPs and digital advertising leaders Google and Facebook must play by the same rules, some see an opportunity for more competition in online advertising, he says, and the FCC's new rules could prevent that.

So there's no rules governing consumer broadband privacy if these are overturned?

ISPs do have their own privacy policies. And the FCC already has the authority to take action should an ISP commit unjust or unreasonable business practices, for instance, and that would not change should these new rules be axed. The Federal Trade Commission also has some consumer protection capabilities should companies take part in unfair and deceptive acts.

But there is some question of its authority because a recent federal court ruling found that the FTC had no jurisdiction over common carriers, which ISPs became under the 2015 Open Internet, or net neutrality rules, the FCC passed.

Privacy advocates note that these provisions involve after-the-fact enforcement, while the FCC rules provide expectations of conduct for ISPs.

What happens next?

The FCC is prohibited from proposing new similar privacy regulations, under the Congressional Review Act, if passed. "So now we have a gap," said Ryan Calo, a law professor at University of Washington. "Presumably, the FTC could enter that gap, but it would require further action."

That sounds like what some legislators want to do: make the FTC the overall privacy cop. “Today’s action takes us one step closer to restoring the FTC’s role as America’s expert agency on privacy," said Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., the House sponsor of the resolution, after the Senate vote last week.

In the meantime, the agencies handle privacy on a case-by-case basis. "I do think there is some potential for activity in Congress," Rigby said, "maybe not in the near-term, but you have got a lot of people who are paying more attention and would like some long-term certainty and more uniform treatment across the board."

Read more:

Congress takes first step to overturn Internet privacy rules

6 changes the FCC has made in just six weeks

Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.