Congress recently gave the final vote to repeal some Obama-era internet privacy regulations before they went into effect, causing a consumer uproar that some, including AT&T, insist is largely unnecessary. While the regulations would have meant vastly enhanced consumer privacy, they did not have time to take effect before being repealed; the old laws were still in effect, which allowed ISPs to hand out consumer information at their discretion, with exceptions for only the most personal and critical information. AT&T’s post on the matter emphasizes this, and assures consumers that not only is their privacy currently as intact as it’s always been, but there will also be a new set of laws in the near future meant to enhance consumer privacy.
AT&T goes on to say that the idea that Congress’ actions dismantled or deactivated any existing laws is “flatly untrue”, and that consumers will continue to be protected under the same statutes they’ve been protected under for years until new laws are created. For their part, AT&T’s services fall under the purview of existing laws as well. On top of that, their privacy policy explicitly states that they will never sell your private information for any reason. While not all companies adhere to such a strict, plain-language policy, AT&T’s post plainly says that all internet service providers are bound by the same laws that they are.
The post also states that one type of entity that is bound by somewhat less restrictive laws is internet giants like Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft, who routinely sell consumer information directly, or use it to formulate a profile themselves to serve more engaging and accurate advertisements than they would otherwise be able to. While the proposed laws would have affected these entities, the call for stricter laws surrounding them is clear in AT&T’s post. They go on to say that current laws, and the ones being repealed, greatly limit how ISPs can use consumer data, but have no such protections in place for entities like internet companies and app developers, who have a valid excuse for needing consumer data; internet companies like Google need to serve relevant ads to stay afloat, and app developers need consumer’s location data for things like augmented reality games and mapping apps.