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Wisconsin Senate May Take Up Internet Privacy Again

Bill From Sen. Chris Larson Comes After Budget Writers Remove Privacy Language From Broadband Expansion Bill

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Woman on her laptop
Mel Evans/AP Photo

The Wisconsin Senate may again take up a proposal to limit the ability of Internet Service Providers, such as Charter or Verizon, to collect users’ browsing data.

Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, was circulating a new bill in the Legislature that would bar the use and disclosure of users’ personal internet data without their permission.

Internet providers say such rules target them while allowing tech companies such as Facebook and Google to use personal browsing data to deliver advertisements to users.

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But Larson said the companies have access to much more information about a user.

“Internet service providers is all websites, everything that a person is doing online,” Larson said. “There’s a huge difference between those (and sites like Facebook). Even just entering your Social Security number or other information on a website, that data could be used, that could be sold to somebody. That’s where the line gets drawn.”

The Senate unanimously approved broader privacy rules on ISPs several weeks ago as part of a broadband technology bill.

But the Joint Finance Committee removed the language from the measure.

Larson said he expects his standalone proposal to win broad Senate support.

“I would expect something like this that is more measured — it allows for companies to be able to collect data for the purposes of continuing their business, but also allows for people to opt out of certain collection and certain sale of data —I would hope that it would have the same result, which was to pass unanimously,” Larson said.

Wisconsin is one of several states considering limits on ISPs.

President Donald Trump signed a bill to repeal similar rules the Federal Communication Commission enacted in 2016.

Larson’s deadline for co-sponsorship was Friday.