back to article More questions than answers, literally, from America's privacy rules

New privacy rules put forward by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that are intended to give consumers more rights over what ISPs do with their data have left policymakers scratching their heads. When FCC chairman Tom Wheeler announced last month that he would issue a "notice of proposed rulemaking" – or NPRM in …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    ALL American government agencies are in a state of regulatory capture.

    1. Preston Munchensonton

      This has been true since 1933...

    2. tom dial Silver badge

      Incorrect. The article describes agency empire building. While also ubiquitous, that is not regulatory capture.

  2. Nunyabiznes

    Power grab

    Not knowing what you are doing has never stopped an American regulatory agency from action. History is replete with bungled programs, over-extended reach of regulation and wasted resources all courtesy of various agencies. Repeat after me: TSA.

    Many times an agency is started in good faith with a clear mission and then the bureaucrats invade and pretty soon you have the EPA. Or worse yet, CARB (California specific). Now the Army Corps of Engineers is getting in the game. All agencies that were needed at the time of conception and still serve a useful purpose in a minority of their programs but are on the whole past their prime.

    Egos, political maneuvering, evangelism of various strongly held beliefs, etc all play a role in the rise and rot of these entities.

    1. Teiwaz

      Re: Power grab

      "Many times an agency is started in good faith with a clear mission and then the bureaucrats invade and pretty soon you have the EPA."

      This is to be expected if you go around wily nilly creating agencies or bodies to deal with specific issues. You can be sure that once you create a body to deal with a specific issue or problem, that issue or problem will never be solved.

      The primary goal of the body will be to continue it's existence, not to solve the problem. Scope will be widened, the problem will always be on the rise the 'threat' as reported by the body will grow year on year. The body will always demand new powers, more budget, not to solve the issue for which it was created but to continue existing.

    2. Keith Glass
      Trollface

      Re: Power grab

      . . . .and, of course, all driven by Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy:

      Specifically:

      Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy states that in any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people":

      First, there will be those who are devoted to the goals of the organization. Examples are dedicated classroom teachers in an educational bureaucracy, many of the engineers and launch technicians and scientists at NASA, even some agricultural scientists and advisors in the former Soviet Union collective farming administration.

      Secondly, there will be those dedicated to the organization itself. Examples are many of the administrators in the education system, many professors of education, many teachers union officials, much of the NASA headquarters staff, etc.

      The Iron Law states that in every case the second group will gain and keep control of the organization. It will write the rules, and control promotions within the organization.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    It would appear that the FCC has got the cable and telco companies in a bit of a lather - they are headed towards loosing their monopoly cash grab from the customers.

    Boo hoo, the FCC are going to stop us gouging our customers.

  4. Ole Juul

    What's the average of bad and good?

    And good policy is nothing but solid compromises.

    Compromise is often the only practical way forward, but it is never "good".

    1. DryBones

      Re: What's the average of bad and good?

      Disagree, because otherwise nothing gets done.

  5. energystar
    Windows

    This is the guy with the MOST [political] experience...

    "There are so many questions on so many aspects, in fact, that it is clear the FCC is trying to learn about data privacy rather than use its expertise to propose improvements to the current system."

    Well, ISPs used to deliver 'The full Monty", down to the dictionaries.

    Do you realize that Tom is asking YOUR points of view, for the first time, ever?

    1. energystar
      Alert

      Take the chance?

      Or Leave 'Business as Usual' Run Smoothly?

    2. energystar
      Paris Hilton

      Maybe I could answer two, or three...

      How many could YOU?

  6. energystar

    It may require rhythm, but never imposed tempos.

    "The other possibility is that Wheeler's determination to get things done before the US election..."

  7. energystar
    Facepalm

    "What should the FCC do? "

    Come on. What the FCC is going to do? That is the question.

  8. Warm Braw

    The increasingly partisan nature of the FCC

    The fundamental issue is the increasingly partisan nature of US politics, to the extent that proposed as "pro-consumer" is now automatically opposed as being "anti-business". No amount of inquiry and consultation is going to resolve that.

  9. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Unhappy

    Fitting new technology into old law

    Like the UK did with bulkd data slurping under the 1984 Telecomms Act.

    That worked well, didn't it.

    1. energystar
      Childcatcher

      John...

      With all due respect to the Industry. Law doesn't have to follow on every fashion.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Most of what seems to be put under a bad light in this article is just the way a democratic system works (and many others). And to the idea of putting the FTC in the mix, well that will eventually bring in the FBI along with the ATF. Next thing you know, it's all about regulating firearms at an ISP level. Yes, I might be stretching it, but how far?

    Honestly, at least the FCC is asking for help. To me that is a step forward from other branches who assume they have all the answers....shit, the FCC might of made the first move that I have ever appreciated!

    1. tom dial Silver badge

      There is nothing in the least democratic about any government executive agency, whether federal, state, or local. The fact that "at least the FCC is asking for help" is effectively meaningless; executive agencies often do this, after which they select the answers they like, adopt them by a majority vote if that is their practice, and press on to the next task of agency (and agency poobah) aggrandizement. Anyone ever involved with this type of decision making knows this quite well.

      That is not to say executive agencies do no good, as some of them, at least do so in quite necessary and useful ways. The US FDA provides numerous examples. Still, the rulemaking is not democratic. The FCC did far better at technical engineering rulemaking than it seems to be doing in its newly grabbed role.

      1. energystar
        Childcatcher

        Agreeing with Tom.

        Just commenting that hiccups are a natural of 'newly grabbed roles'. Also that Ruling is more subject to implementation realities of the 'battle' field, and require a wider set of approaches.

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