--- title: Donald Trump Signs Bill Repealing Internet Privacy Rules description: President Trump on Monday repealed online privacy protections established by the Federal Communications Commission under President Obama canonical: https://time.com/4724128/donald-trump-internet-history-isp-privacy-browser-history/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-04T00:51:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:29.213Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump Signs Bill Overturning Internet Privacy Protections og:description: Allowing internet providers to sell users' online information, like their browser history og:url: https://time.com/4724128/donald-trump-internet-history-isp-privacy-browser-history/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd329cf16cbdf2576/6988c10d4dd215ad89efe5e0/donald-trump-fcc-rules.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: Trump Hosts Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi At The White House og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Signs Bill Overturning Internet Privacy Protections twitter:description: Allowing internet providers to sell users' online information, like their browser history twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd329cf16cbdf2576/6988c10d4dd215ad89efe5e0/donald-trump-fcc-rules.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Signs Bill Overturning Internet Privacy Protections > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=14ad29de-ce21-41e2-ac5c-e4e8b2f034f9&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: How the Mobile Internet Works [Watch (HLS stream): How the Mobile Internet Works](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ZazsgW6S.m3u8) (1:57)  _Published 2016-07-06. In some ways, the internet actually is a series of tubes. Some cell phone and internet companies might like you to think that your mobile internet connection is truly wireless — but in reality, your data is largely still just shooting through wires._  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Apr 4, 2017 12:51 AM UTC  President Donald Trump looks on as he meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi in the Oval Office of the White House on April 3, 2017. President Donald Trump looks on as he meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi in the Oval Office of the White House on April 3, 2017. Olivier Douliery—Pool/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Apr 4, 2017 12:51 AM UTC President [Donald Trump](http://time.com/4722655/donald-trump-barack-obama-policies/?iid=sr-link1) on Monday signed into law a controversial measure [repealing online privacy protections](http://fortune.com/2017/04/03/fcc-online-privacy-faq/) established by the Federal Communications Commission under the Obama Administration. The [rules](http://time.com/4718034/gop-rolls-back-online-privacy-rules/?iid=sr-link2), which would have taken effect in December, required internet service providers — including Comcast, Verizon and AT&T — to obtain permission from customers before sharing personal data like their web-browsing history. The rules were aimed at preventing internet providers from selling that data without permission. Critics of the rules argued they were an example of government overreach and were unfair because tech companies, like Google and Facebook, are not required to get such permission before tracking customers’ habits. The bill [passed the House and Senate](http://time.com/4716033/house-internet-browsing-history-fcc-comcast-verizon/?iid=sr-link4) last week, as Republicans voted to overturn the regulations. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Sunday [urged Trump](http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/sen-chuck-schumer-calls-trump-veto-measure-letting-isps-sell-n741801) to veto the bill. ## Transcript [ NOISE ] Internet and cell phone companies have created the illusion of a giant wireless internet network. What is the cloud? [ CROSSTALK ] The cloud. The cloud. But in reality our data is still just crawling through wires. [ MUSIC ] This is a photo of your mom on vacation in Hawaii. She wants to send it to you and your whole family. Loads it up onto an email, sends it and she's all set, but that photo has a lot more work to do. First, it's got to go to the nearest cell tower. Next, it needs to go through Hawaii's local network of fiber optic cable. Goals. Here's where it gets complicated. Most of the internet isn't relayed through satellites. Instead, far- flung places are connected through massive underwater cables that go from one country to another. Billions of photos and videos and websites travel through these cables. But they're vulnerable. Someone could sneak up and cut them or hack into them. They sometimes get hit by anchors or boats trolling for fish. And there have even been problems with marine animals chewing them up. Sharks think they're tasty. So your mom's photo has to travel on the bottom on the Pacific Ocean just to get from Hawaii to the mainland USA. From there, the photo heads to an internet exchange point. One of the massive hubs where data shoots around. They're in New York City, Seattle, Atlanta and other spots around the country. These are kind of like the central stations of the Internet, directing data where to go. From there it will zip across the country through fiber optic cables, occasionally hitting routers and switches to send it the right way. [ MUSIC ] [ SOUND ] It's only right before the photo gets to your laptop or phone that your data goes wireless, when it's transmitted from a router or cell tower. So now you have no excuse to ignore your mom's photos from her vacation in Hawaii. 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