Flake Introduces CRA Resolution on ISP Privacy; Thune Among Many Backers

A group of 21 Senate Republicans will join Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., in his introduction Tuesday of his Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval to kill the FCC’s ISP privacy rules, said his aides, who had predicted the resolution may be coming this soon (see 1703060041). The text of the resolution -- which would kill the regulations and prevent the FCC from developing substantially similar ones -- is barely more than one page. The backers include GOP Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, along with the others expected, but also Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., and other senior Republicans such as Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. Co-sponsors include Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Dean Heller, R-Nev., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Industry groups including the Chamber of Commerce, NCTA, USTelecom and CTA wrote Senate Commerce leaders backing the CRA. “If Congress employs the CRA to disapprove the rule, customers will still enjoy reasonable privacy protections under Section 222 of the Communications Act,” they said. The resolution “will reverse the FCC's broad regulatory overreach and restore certainty and consistency with privacy guidelines established by the Federal Trade Commission,” CTA President Gary Shapiro said in a statement. The heads of the 21st Century Privacy Coalition, which consists of communications companies, lauded the introduction. The FCC's "rules deviate substantially from the FTC's successful privacy model and are fatally flawed" and the "resolution will give the Administration the opportunity to hit the reset button and develop a holistic approach to privacy for the entire internet ecosystem that benefits consumers," said co-chairs Jon Leibowitz, a former FTC chairman, and Mary Bono, a former House GOP lawmaker. Capitol Hill Democrats and public interest groups called the CRA destructive (see 1702270035). House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is leading efforts in the lower chamber on the CRA resolution. “We continue to discuss the issue with our colleagues in the Senate and are exploring all options moving forward,” a GOP House aide said.