Today, the U.S. Senate voted narrowly to undo certain regulations governing broadband providers, put in place during the Obama administration, that would have required Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to obtain approval from their customers before sharing information such as web-browsing histories, app usage, and aspects of their financial and health information, with third parties. Now, ISPs may sell targeted advertising or share personal information and browsing history with third party marketers, without first getting explicit consent from web users.
Cloudflare is disappointed with the Senate’s actions, as we feel strongly that consumer privacy rights need to be at the forefront of discussions around how personal information is treated. The new regulations would have steered the U.S. closer to the privacy standards enjoyed by citizens in many other developed countries, rather than away from such rights.
Defaulting to an “opt-in” rather than “opt-out” standard would provide consumers with greater controls over how, when, and with whom their personal information is used and shared. We believe that individuals should have the last say on what is done with their personal information, rather than corporations.
Regardless of whether Washington ultimately decides to approve rolling back these regulations, Cloudflare will continue to prioritize the sensitivity and privacy of the data we handle from and on behalf of our customers, and to comply with applicable privacy regulations worldwide.