Congress just repealed legislation that prevented ISPs from selling your internet browsing history. Pennsylvania’s Senators were split: Senator Toomey (Republican) voted for the Senate resolution to repeal the protections, while Senator Casey (Democrat) voted against it.
Twelve Congressman from Pennsylvania voted to repeal the protections:
- Barletta, Lou (Republican, PA-11)
- Costello, Ryan (Republican, PA-6)
- Dent, Charles (Republican, PA-15)
- Fitzpatrick, Brian (Republican, PA-8)
- Kelly, Mike (Republican, PA-3)
- Meehan, Patrick (Republican, PA-7)
- Murphy, Timothy (Republican, PA-18)
- Perry, Scott (Republican, PA-4)
- Rothfus, Keith (Republican, PA-12)
- Shuster, Bill (Republican, PA-9)
- Smucker, Lloyd (Republican, PA-16)
- Thompson, Glenn (Republican, PA-5)
And five Congressman from Pennsylvania voted to keep the protections:
- Boyle, Brendan (Democrat, PA-13)
- Brady, Bob (Democrat, PA-1)
- Cartwright, Matt (Democrat, PA-17)
- Doyle, Michael F. (Democrat, PA-14)
- Evans, Dwight (Democrat, PA-2)
I have a hard time believing that many Pennsylvania citizens support ISPs being able to sell their private browsing data to the highest bidder, but Congress has managed to build protections that make them virtually unaccountable to their constituents. Gerrymandering is one of their favorite tools for retaining power; if you want to make Congress accountable, consider supporting the fair district movement.