The FCC just passed sweeping new rules to protect your online privacy | Hacker News Reader

The FCC just passed sweeping new rules to protect your online privacy

washingtonpost.com

13 pointszfk7 comments

Once this goes into effect, an easy and early move by the HN crowd would be a synopsis of how exactly to get your ISP to comply with this, and a draft letter that one could fill out and send.

I'm also interested in ways to sidestep this being overridden by every quiet EULA change. I expect the definition of "explicit" consent here to be a battleground.

... which will be erased by an Executive Order on January 2nd. Still, enjoy it for the next 27 days.

Whoops, I'm unclear, is this against the rules?

Yes, an FCC rule would have to be repealed by the FCC. The FCC Commissioners serve staggered five year terms (not at the pleasure of the President), one ending June 30 (or, IIRC, when the replacement is confirmed, if later, but not beyond the end of the Congressional term) of each year.

Because it's a Democratic commissioner's term expiring, the FCC will almost certainly flip from 3-2 Democratic to 3-2 Republican and stay that way (because of the limit of 3 per party) for the remainder of Trump's term. So, a reversal of an FCC rule due to the change in administration would most likely occur this summer or later, not in January.

> Yes, an FCC rule would have to be repealed by the FCC.

It could also be reversed by Congress. Ever since Wheeler's Open Internet Order was adopted, on a 3-2 party line vote by the Commission, Congress has been making a lot of noise about taking away much of the FCC's power and the regulations made under that power.

They never got to the point of putting a bill on the President's desk, as far as I recall, but I suspect that was due to their knowledge that it would have been vetoed and they could not have overridden the veto.

I wouldn't rule out the new Congress quickly putting some kind of "reverse everything that Wheeler did" bill on the new President's desk well before the new President gets to flip the Commission from a 3-2 Democrat majority to a 3-2 Republican majority.

I read "against the rules" as meaning "against HN rules due to political snark" but I could be wrong.

Either way that's interesting, thanks!

An Executive Order would not do it, it would take a new FCC ruling or Congress.

Besides, Obama will still be President on 2 January. The Inauguration is 20 January.

This isn't politics and it's relevant to the community.

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