Competitive Carriers Would Suffer the Most Under Proposed Privacy Rules, CCA Says
Competitive mobile carriers, except Verizon and AT&T, have the most to lose if the FCC moves forward on draft ISP privacy rules, Steve Berry, president of the Competitive Carriers Association said in a Wednesday blog post. “Consumers want more content,…
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smarter and cheaper devices, and opportunity for savings,” but carriers have to compete with edge providers like Amazon and Facebook, which have broad access to consumer data under the FTC’s framework, he said. “Imagine a consumer wants to buy a new tablet and their competitive mobile carrier offers tablets at 20 percent off sticker price,” Berry wrote. “Google might know that particular consumer wants to buy a tablet, based on their web browsing history, and would accordingly place targeted ads in the customer’s search results. But under the FCC’s proposed rules, a carrier would likely have to get the consumer’s express permission to offer the same 20 percent tablet discount. This does not foster competition; in fact, it provides consumers with fewer choices.” Chairman Tom Wheeler’s mantra is “competition, competition, competition,” Berry said. “A more flexible privacy protection regime will benefit carriers and consumers alike, giving both what they want and need,” he said. “I fear the FCC has forgotten that ‘an informed consumer is the best customer’ and the FCC is making it difficult for consumers to be ‘informed.’”