The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted 50 to 48 to repeal regulations requiring Internet service providers to do more to protect customers’ privacy than websites like Alphabet’s Google or Facebook.
Under the rules approved by the Federal Communications Commission in October under then-President Barack Obama, internet providers would need to obtain consumer consent before using precise geolocation, financial information, health information, children’s information and web browsing history for advertising and internal marketing. The vote is a victory for Internet providers such as AT&T Comcast and Verizon Communications that had strongly opposed the rules.