- Joined
- Aug 20, 2006
- Messages
- 13,000
VPNs are suddenly a hot topic now that Congress has voted against the FCC’s internet privacy rules that would have prevented internet service providers from selling customer data without a clear opt-in. I assume that most of you know what a VPN is and that you may still screwed if you have something to hide and your provider gets subpoenaed, so I will just use this as an opportunity to shill for the better private networks (AirVPN and the Viscosity client have been working pretty swell for me).
The uptick in searches (which is relative, and likely doesn't mean everyone on the internet is seeking out a VPN) matched a broader, somewhat manic response to Congress' actions. One man is offering to sell his internet browsing history on eBay, so that he can benefit from this apparent commodity. Another ticked-off internet user started a campaign to buy the internet histories of legislators and a bunch of other people to make them publicly searchable. Fatemeh Khatibloo, a principal analyst at tech research firm Forrester who focuses on privacy, pointed out that nothing has actually changed about the way ISPs treat your data. That's because the FCC rules hadn't gone into effect yet.
The uptick in searches (which is relative, and likely doesn't mean everyone on the internet is seeking out a VPN) matched a broader, somewhat manic response to Congress' actions. One man is offering to sell his internet browsing history on eBay, so that he can benefit from this apparent commodity. Another ticked-off internet user started a campaign to buy the internet histories of legislators and a bunch of other people to make them publicly searchable. Fatemeh Khatibloo, a principal analyst at tech research firm Forrester who focuses on privacy, pointed out that nothing has actually changed about the way ISPs treat your data. That's because the FCC rules hadn't gone into effect yet.