---

Published: January 2010

Strengthen privacy in FCC’s national broadband plan

Coalition: Privacy

Consumer Action joined the Center for Democracy and Technology and others in asking the Federal Communications Commission to consider privacy concerns in its National Broadband Plan, and to endorse Fair Information Practices in addressing them.

Below is an excerpt from the letter:

We the undersigned respectfully submit these joint comments in response to the Commission’s NBP Public Notice #29 regarding privacy concerns and expectations with respect to broadband applications in the context of the development of the Commission’s National Broadband Plan.1  We commend the Commission for its commitment to carefully considering the privacy issues inherent in this topic.   

There are a number of powerful online applications on the horizon that can provide great societal benefit, including e‐Government, smart grid technologies, and electronic health records.  These applications both depend for their success on the widespread availability and affordability of broadband and at the same time could drive demand for broadband services. 
In a virtuous cycle, they both depend on broadband and could help spur further broadband growth.   

However, these applications also pose risks to consumer privacy because they involve the collection and exchange of sensitive personal information and in some implementations will require the development of more robust identification and authentication services. Therefore, their acceptance – and hence to some extent the future of broadband development – depend on the degree to which consumer privacy is protected. To increase consumer trust and truly achieve broadband’s potential, these applications require a robust and comprehensive privacy protection framework.   

Currently, the United States does not have such a comprehensive privacy protection law.  Debate has occurred in Congress on the issue and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is taking afresh look at privacy. The National Broadband Plan offers an excellent opportunity to give impetus to the development of a comprehensive privacy law.

Lead Organization

Center for Democracy and Technology

Other Organizations

Ari Schwartz, Center for Democracy & Technology | Lewis Maltby, National Workrights Institute | Robert Ellis Smith, Privacy Journal | Susan Grant, Consumer Federation of America | Frank A. Pasquale, Seton Hall Law School | The CryptoRights Foundation, Inc.

Download PDF

No Download Available