Privacy NPRM Likely Will Get Vote at March 31 Meeting, Wireline Chief Says
Broadband is the “defining infrastructure of the 21st century” and it shouldn't be a surprise that the FCC will consider privacy rules for ISPs, FCC Wireline Bureau Chief Matthew DelNero said Thursday at an FCC symposium. A vote on the rulemaking is likely at the commission's March 31 meeting, he said, noting that Chairman Tom Wheeler said as much during congressional testimony Wednesday
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“We don’t need to reinvent the wheel here,” DelNero said. "There are many things going on in the spaces of privacy and data security that we can draw good ideas from." The FCC is also “well aware” of the importance of flexibility in privacy rules, he said. "We want the rulemaking to leave room for a lot of different views" on the best approach to protecting privacy, he said.
The FCC will rely on its authority under Section 222 of the Communications Act to impose privacy rules, DelNero suggested. That section applies only to broadband providers and not edge providers, he said. The rulemaking notice is likely to explore the broader issue of the customer proprietary network information collected by ISPs, he said. Staff’s thinking is that “it is an opportune time to think about harmonizing voice rules with any new broadband rules,” he said. The NPRM likely will ask questions on updating voice rules as well, he said.
DelNero said he has been asked when he's abroad why the U.S. doesn't have a national privacy law. “The answer to that question, of course, is the U.S. has multiple privacy laws at the federal and the state level,” he said. The laws all “serve to protect consumers,” he said.
Wireline Bureau staff has been working with staff from across the agency to craft proposed rules, DelNero said. “What we are focused on are the privacy protections of broadband providers regarding the data they obtain by virtue of providing broadband service.”