Briana Koeneman
President Trump Will Decide If Internet Providers Can Sell User Data
Trump will decide on internet security after both chambers of Congress passed a bill undoing an Obama-era law protecting internet user data.
LEARN MOREPosted: 1:03 p.m. EDT Mar 30, 2017
People aren't too happy with Congress' recent efforts to roll back internet privacy rules.
But a few individuals decided they're not going to get mad — they're going to get even.
Ever since House Republicans voted to let internet service providers sell your private data without your consent, a slew of revenge-seeking GoFundMe campaigns have popped up.
And they all share a common goal: to buy those lawmakers' web histories and publish them for the entire world to see.
But it's not just everyday folks wanting to stick it to politicians. One of the co-creators of Cards Against Humanity also has a campaign to buy Congress' data.
On Reddit, he wrote, "If and when any data becomes available, myself and Cards Against Humanity will do whatever we can do [to] acquire it and publish it. We have a long track record of activism and spending around government transparency issues."
Problem is, these plans for sweet retribution aren't exactly legal.
A writer for The Verge points out The Telecommunications Act prohibits internet service providers from sharing "individually identifiable" customer information.
So it wouldn't be OK for a provider to sell a single lawmaker's browsing history to any one of these campaigners.
But that isn't stopping them from pushing forward with their crowdfunding efforts. One campaigner insists he is "working with people who are assisting me in developing a fully fledged plan."
The two biggest campaigns have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars so far. It's unclear exactly where that money will go if they fail.
