Source: DARK READING: Jai Vijayan

Concerns over the action are sending VPN sales soaring, some vendors say.

The Trump administration’s move to repeal a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule that would have prevented ISPs from selling customer data to third parties has widespread security implications for users and organizations, industry experts warned this week.

The Obama-era FCC rule was to have gone into effect later this year. It would have prevented Internet service providers from collecting and selling data such as a customer’s Web browsing history, location data, and other data related to the user’s online activities without explicit permission.

The White House, FCC chairman Ajit Pai, and others wanted the bill repealed on the grounds that it unfairly favored one set of companies on the Internet over another. The main argument was that the bill would have restricted carriers including AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast from collecting and selling data on a user’s online activities, even as Internet giants such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter were free to do so.