Congress Voted to Sell Your Browsing History. So This Guy Is Trying to Buy Theirs.
On Tuesday, House Republicans voted to scrub Obama-era online privacy rules that would have stopped internet providers from selling your data to the highest bidder. The move marks a stark reversal from the short-lived FCC protections, which were passed last October and scheduled to take effect later this year. The law isn’t final as of now, as it’s still pending presidential approval. But if passed, everything from your search history, location, health and financial data -- even the porn you watch -- can be legally sold to target advertisements.
Behind the rule are politicians -- such as House Telecom Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell -- who have pocketed large payouts from the telecoms industry. That’s why Adam McElhaney, a software engineer from Tennessee, wants to even the playing field. He’s started a GoFundMe campaign to purchase the private internet histories of the politicians who’ve voted to sell yours -- and it’s gaining traction quickly.
McElhaney tells Thrillist in an email that the response to his campaign has been “overwhelmingly positive. People from all over have sent messages in support. Some are skeptical. Rightly so. No one knows me.”
Writing on his website, searchinternethistory.com, McElhaney states that he’s got members of Congress in his crosshairs: “I plan on purchasing the Internet histories of all legislators, congressmen, executives, and their families and make them easily searchable... Help me raise money to buy the histories of those who took away your right to privacy. ” The GoFundMe project has already bested its goal of $10,000, and seems nowhere near sputtering. Over the last four days, 10,000 people have contributed nearly $160,000 toward the campaign.
McElhaney is aware of laws that prevent the sale of an individual's online data -- ISPs track customer data in aggregate form -- but his ultimate goal is changing lawmaker’s minds. “I think a lot of people do not realize this isn't about retaliation. This is about showing our legislators that this is the what the future holds. It may not be right now that I can just go online and buy someone’s history. But that future is coming,” he says. As for how a single identity could be parsed from an aggregate of online information, an ISP could theoretically track your IP address. It gets sinister, according to McElhaney, when a provider uses that to peddle information to an insurance provider or law enforcement agency.
Other advocates, such as Cards of Humanity creator Max Temkin, are planning similar actions, albeit without the aid of fundraising tools like Kickstarter and GoFundMe.
Temkin and his colleagues staged a fundraiser on Reddit on Wednesday, matching donations to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), an internet privacy group.
Initiatives like these have cropped up, largely because people prefer to keep their data private. McElhaney hopes to drive awareness to the issue of internet privacy, regardless of whether he can turn the tables on a public official. “I really wanted to bring attention to this cause and I did. It was trying to be swept under the rug and passed through very quickly. Which is what I suspect they wanted.”
As for what he’ll do with the money if he fails, he’s giving contributors the option of a full refund, or he’ll donate the proceeds to the ACLU or EFF.
While your online privacy hangs in the balance, check out what you can do to protect yourself from ISP data collection.
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