If you're reading this,moms catching gaughters having sex videos I'm sorry -- your internet provider now knows you're a fan of Mashable and they could sell that information. Please don't blame us.
SEE ALSO: Telecom giants can finally stop caring about protecting your dataThis week, the U.S. government ripped apart the rules former Federal Communications Communications Chairman Tom Wheeler put in place to protect your privacy while browsing the web. Now, thanks to a new administration, who you are — based on what you do online — is now for the taking... for a price.
Verizon, AT&T, Time Warner Cable, all the companies you hate to hate, can sell information about your privacy to the highest bidder, a.k.a. advertising giants.
It all sounds rather ridiculous and quite alarming.
Business editor Jason Abbruzzese and I chatted with Gigi Sohn, Open Society fellow, to learn how this all happened and why. Sohn served as counselor to Wheeler when he served as chairman.
You can listen to the podcast here:
Sohns advised on several telecommunications and media policy issues, including broadband privacy and net neutrality. Now, she works with Open Society Foundation.
As the counselor to Wheeler, who helped put these broadband privacy rules in place, she's obviously upset about the derailment of the rules. She walks us through both sides of the issues and what's to come.
"When it comes to your internet providers you have no protection," Sohn said. "I think number one [Congress] should repeat the law that prohibits the FTC of regulating the broadband market."
What's next? Is there any hope? Sohn hoped that more people would speak out about this being an issue. She recalled efforts by the late-night hosts, such as John Oliver and Stephen Colbert, to bring awareness to the campaign for net neutrality.
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