A vote in the House of Representatives regarding internet privacy saw all of its 215 votes to pass come from the GOP. Fifteen Republicans voted no, including Valley congressman Tom McClintock. GV Wire asked McClintock why he bucked the party trend on H.J.Res. 34. He replied back through e-mail via a spokesperson:

“Broadband Internet Service Providers (usually your cable or telephone company) typically require customers to agree to share private information such as their browsing and search histories and downloads, as a condition of getting access to the Internet — information which the ISP then sells to various vendors.  The FCC promulgated a rule that requires the ISP to give you a choice of whether you want this information shared with third parties.  This resolution rescinds that rule.  This is a fundamental privacy issue.  You have a choice in subscribing to search or social sites – if you don’t agree with Google’s privacy policy, you can use some other service whose terms you find more pleasing.  Agreements with such companies are purely a matter of choice, with which government should not interfere.  But the ISP’s are different.  Consumers have little — if any — choice of Internet Service Providers, because government severely restricts competition.  As long as free choice cannot protect the consumer, rules like this are necessary.”

The rest of the Valley Republican delegation: Devin Nunes, David Valadao, Kevin McCarthy and Jeff Denham voted in favor. Democrat Jim Costa voted no.

The bill passed 215-205.

Contact David Taub

Phone: 559-492-4037 / e-mail

This story was not subject to the approval of Granville Homes.