Crowdfunded Billboards Shame Politicians For Selling You Out On Net Neutrality

Crowdfunded Billboards Shame Politicians For Selling You Out On Net Neutrality

7 years ago
Anonymous $Gu9VYqcl-R

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20170816/11203238013/crowdfunded-billboards-shame-politicians-selling-you-out-net-neutrality.shtml

Earlier this year you might recall that lawmakers voted along party lines to kill consumer broadband privacy protections. The rules, which large ISPs whined incessantly about, were relatively basic; simply ensuring that ISPs couldn't collect or sell your personal data without being transparent about it and providing working opt out tools. The rules were only proposed after ISPs repeatedly showed they weren't able to self regulate on this front in the face of limited competition, from AT&T's plan to charge more for privacy, to Verizon getting busted for covertly modifying wireless packets to track users without consent.

After a massive lobbying push, the usual loyal ISP allies like Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn rushed to help free these incumbent duopolists from the terror of accountability. In response, many of these lawmakers faced a naming and shaming campaign by consumer advocacy group Fight for the Future, which crowdsourced the funding of billboards erected in their home districts clearly highlighting how they took ISP campaign contributions in exchange for selling consumer privacy down river: