‘Nobody’s got to use
the Internet’: A GOP lawmaker’s response to concerns about Web privacy
Kristine
Phillips
A Wisconsin
congressman told a town hall attendee who was concerned about the
elimination of online privacy protections that using the Internet is a choice —
a statement that has since drawn criticism on social media.
During the meeting in
Waterloo, Wis., on Thursday, the attendee asked about the recent decision
by Congress to wipe away an Obama-era policy that sought to limit
what Internet service providers, such as Verizon, AT&T and Comcast, can do
with customers’ Internet browsing history. The concern is similar to one
raised by consumer activists: Not all Internet users have options to
switch to a different company if they don’t agree with their current provider’s
privacy practices.
“Facebook is not
comparable to an ISP. I do not have to go to Facebook,” the town hall
attendee told Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.). “I do have
one provider. … I have one choice. I don’t have to go on Google. My ISP
provider is different than those providers.”
In response,
Sensenbrenner, who voted to scrap the Federal Communications Commission’s
privacy rules that were set to take effect at the end of this year, said:
“Nobody’s got to use
the Internet. … And the thing is that if you start regulating the Internet like
a utility, if we did that right at the beginning, we would have no Internet. …
Internet companies have invested an awful lot of money in having almost
universal service now. The fact is is that, you know, I don’t think it’s my job
to tell you that you cannot get advertising for your information being sold. My
job, I think, is to tell you that you have the opportunity to do it, and then
you take it upon yourself to make that choice. … That’s what the law has been,
and I think we ought to have more choices rather than fewer choices with the
government controlling our everyday lives.”
The congressman then
moved on to the next question.
A spokesman for
American Bridge, a liberal super PAC, tweeted a video of Sensenbrenner responding
to the constituent’s question:
Sensenbrenner’s
press office responded to the tweet, reiterating the congressman’s
comment: “Actually, he said that nobody has to use the Internet. They have
a choice. Big difference.”
A spokesman for
Sensenbrenner has not responded to an email from The Washington Post requesting
comment.
Sensenbrenner, who
represents Wisconsin’s 5th Congressional District in the southeastern part of
the state, is a veteran congressman. He was elected to the House of
Representatives in 1978 after serving 10 years in the state legislature.
Despite recent
turmoil at town halls, Sensenbrenner hosts many town hall meetings throughout
the year, according to his website. The town hall on Thursday was one of four
he held in his home state that day.
Sensenbrenner’s
statement has since drawn criticism from social-media users. Some accused the
73-year-old congressman of being out of touch in the digital age, when
something as basic as paying the bills, buying clothes or finding a job is done
online.
“Nobody has to use
indoor plumbing or electricity. They can just use outhouses and kerosene lamps.
They have a choice, right?” one Twitter user wrote.
“Nobody has to use
the Internet? Many jobs require it. Schools require it. Take his office
Internet away, maybe?” said another.
“I’m an online
editor. I have to use the Internet. Welcome to 2017,” another one wrote.
The Internet has
become such a fixed part of people’s everyday lives, the United
Nations considers access to it a human right. In 2016, the U.N. Human
Rights Council passed a resolution declaring that denying someone
the ability to access or disseminate information online is a human rights
violation.
The measures
approved during the Obama administration would’ve required telecommunication carriers to inform their
customers that they can opt in or opt out from allowing companies to
share their confidential information. Republicans viewed the regulations as
burdensome and excessive.
Earlier this month, Trump signed the bill, nullifying the
Obama measures. This means that providers will be able to monitor their
customers’ online behavior and, without their permission, use their personal
and financial information to sell highly targeted ad spaces, The Post’s Brian Fung wrote.
In a column published in The Post on April 4, Federal
Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and Federal Trade Commission acting
chairman Maureen Ohlhausen said the criticisms of the bill are based on a
“wildfire of misinformation.”
“First, despite
hyperventilating headlines, Internet service providers have never planned to
sell your individual browsing history to third parties. That’s simply not how
online advertising works. And doing so would violate ISP’s privacy promises,”
they wrote. “Second, Congress’s decision last week didn’t remove existing
privacy protections; it simply cleared the way for us to work together to
reinstate a rational and effective system for protecting consumer privacy.”
The Center for
Digital Democracy, however, slammed the new law.
“Trump
just killed any hope that Americans would enjoy basic privacy protections
online,” Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, said in a statement. “By signing this bill, Mr. Trump
has allied himself with the telecommunications and digital media giants who
seek to profit from every detail of our lives.”
Lindsey Bever and
Cleve Wootson contributed to this report.
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