ONLINE PRIVACY LAWS In this paper, I will be bringing points on how the government has been creating and destroying Americans online privacy, from the Judicial Branch, the Legislative Branch, to the Executive Branch. I will also be explaining how each one has improved or dismantled the online privacy laws and policies that were originally enacted in the early 80’s. I will be using examples like the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), President Barrack Obama and his time in office, and Congress and their discussions and actions on internet privacy and American privacy in general. [LEGISLATIVE BRANCH] The legislative branch seems to seek to protect privacy of people’s information on the internet. It went decades before the internet was even …show more content…
The Federal Trade Commission usually uses the federal courts within the judicial branch to sue companies for using deceptive and unfair practices. In 2016, in the court case U.S .Telecom Association v. FCC, the D.C Circuit Court of Appeals (CCA) ruled that the FCC was allowed to classify broadband as a telecommunications service. This allows the FCC to regulate broadband providers with stricter “common carrier” rules. Once again, in 2016, in a court case the State of Tennessee v. FCC, the 6th CCA ruled that the Federal Communications Commission did not have the authority to overrule certain state laws relating to internet service. Towns in states like North Carolina and Tennessee wanted to provide internet services to the citizens in them, but laws in both states prevented this. The FCC then made a rule that stated that state governments could not ban towns from providing internet services because it would interfere with the FCC’s federal mandate to ensure competition for broadband services. This was then overruled by the 6th CCA; they stated that “the FCC did not have the authority to overrule state law on this issue” and proceeded to make the rule invalid. In 2015, the FCC ordered the Open Internet Order, which is also known as Net Neutrality. The rule basically states that internet service providers cannot discriminate against certain …show more content…
It works tirelessly to strengthen cyber security. The Executive branch has endorsed and continues to sign bills that support user privacy and data such as the “Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights” which enforces strict codes of conduct for the government, companies, and any website that stores user data/information. To follow up, sometime in May of 2011, President Obama released his International Strategy for Cyberspace which has been greatly influencing how international agreements work and even has made new ones such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Internet Policymaking Principles. During his term as President, Barrack Obama decided to gather members for an independent privacy body known as the Privacy and Civil Liberties Board. Once he nominated the members for the board, he then put them to work on things such as guiding and overseeing the government’s use of personal information in the counter-terrorism and law enforcement context. However, In the last year, Donald Trump and Congress have worked relentlessly to dismantle the rules and regulations put in place by