New bill could expand sale of your private online history – UpNorthLive.com

GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY (WPBN/WGTU) -- President Trump is considering signing a bill allowing internet service providers to sell your online history information.

Right now, different search engines and social media sites are already doing this. The bill would allow internet providers such as Charter and Comcast to do the same.

"Yes it's susceptible to hacking and that kind of thing but for the most part nobody is secure anyways," said Mike Tusan, the Owner of Mad Mike's a computer store in Traverse City.

Tusan said the new privacy rules wouldn't really change things too much.

"People sell content," said Tusan. "That's where the value of Google, Yahoo and Bing is. It's in the content of their users."

Greg Genoyer of Traverse City disagrees with Tusan. Genoyer believes the bill shouldn't be signed.

"I'm dead set against them doing that," said Genoyer. "They shouldn't be able to."

Genoyer said he thinks other services should also stop collecting our information.

"To sell anyone's personal information should be 100% illegal," said Genoyer.

For people who prefer to keep their online information more private, Tusan said there are some ways to do so.

"You can use a browser called a TOR browser," said Tusan.

A TOR browser protects you by bouncing your information around different networks all over the world which makes it harder for one source to track it.

You can also use Https Everywhere which is a plugin used to keep the pages you visit more secure.

Tusan said regardless of what you do it is impossible to guarantee your information is 100% safe.

"Is there a dark side? Yeah possibly, but for the most part this is going to be a good thing for people," said Tusan.

The Senate has already voted in favor of the bill, now President Trump has the final say.

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New bill could expand sale of your private online history - UpNorthLive.com