Senate panel to examine FCC privacy rules

The Senate Commerce Committee will scrutinize the Federal Communications Commission’s proposal for new privacy rules on broadband providers at a hearing next Tuesday.

The panel announced late Wednesday that Jon Leibowitz, a former Federal Trade Commission chairman who leads a group pushing back against the proposal, and Peter Swire, a professor who wrote a paper used by opponents to make the case against the plan, will be featured at the hearing.

{mosads}Chief executives from two trade groups, the American Cable Association and the Information Technology Industry Council, will also appear.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal would place strict requirements on how broadband providers like Comcast or Verizon could use their customers’ data. In most cases, the providers would not be able to use a customer’s data for advertising purposes without their permission.

The industry opposes the plan, arguing that it is not appropriate for the FCC to impose the rules on broadband providers while companies like Google and Facebook, which dominate the mobile ad business, are governed less aggressively by the FTC. They also argue consumers might be confused by having two different sets of privacy regulations for the websites they visit and the infrastructure they use to get there.

House lawmakers have already held a hearing on the privacy rules, as has a subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s tech subcommittee will also hold an oversight hearing for the FCC on Tuesday.