The Senate could vote as early as Wednesday
evening on a resolution to revoke sweeping broadband privacy rules, according to press reports.
The resolution, introduced earlier this month by Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Arizona), has drawn 23 GOP
co-sponsors, including John Thune (R-South Dakota) head of the Senate Commerce Committee. The measure would overturn the rules under the Congressional Review Act -- a 1996 law that allows federal
lawmakers to vacate recent agency decisions.
If Congress uses that vehicle to overturn the rules, the FCC will not be able to replace them with new privacy regulations.
The broadband
privacy rules, passed 3-2 last October, impose a host of new requirements on Internet service providers. Among others, the regulations require carriers to obtain opt-in consent before drawing on
subscribers' data for ad targeting.
Trade groups representing the ad industry and broadband carriers oppose those rules, as does FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.
Critics argue that the opt-in
consent requirement subjects carriers to tougher standards than search engines, social networking services and other Web companies. The Federal Trade Commission -- which has jurisdiction over
companies other than common carriers -- broadly recommends that Web companies allow people to opt out of the collection and sharing of non-sensitive data. The FTC also suggests that companies should
obtain opt-in consent before sharing a narrow category of "sensitive" data -- including health information and precise location data.
Privacy advocates counter that broadband carriers are not
comparable to other online companies -- largely because broadband carriers can glean detailed knowledge about subscribers' online activity by examining all unencrypted traffic that passes through
their networks.
Recode and The Hill report that the Senate
could vote on the bill Wednesday night. The House is not expected to vote on a similar measure for at least several weeks.