Internet Privacy: Will Trump Use First Veto To Save Online Protections?

Congress passed a bill gutting internet privacy protections this week and now Democratic Senators are making a Hail Mary effort to convince the president to veto the legislation when it reaches his desk.

On Tuesday, the House followed the Senate's lead in voting to repeal Obama-era FCC regulations that required Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to obtain permission from customers before collecting and selling private user data, including browser history. The regulations aren't actually in place yet, and supporters of the bill say the rules unfairly prevent ISPs from collecting the same data that other companies, like Google and Facebook, already collect. But opponents see the bill as a handout to corporate entities like Comcast and Time Warner at the expense of internet users, which is why they are hoping to convince President Trump to use the first veto of his presidency to return the bill to Congress.

Read: Internet Privacy Vote: Congress Decides To Kill Rules Preventing ISPs From Collecting, Selling Data

Trump is expected to sign the bill, although White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer seemed to dodge a question about the bill on Wednesday. But on Thursday, more than 40 Senators, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., signed a letter urging President Trump to veto the bill on behalf of consumers, the Huffington Post reported.

"We respectfully urge you to veto S.J.Res. 34 and make sure that the broadband privacy protections stay intact," the letter said. "Consumers deserve the right to make their own decisions about access, use, and sale of their personal, sensitive internet data by their broadband provider."

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A veto by the president requires a two-thirds vote in both chambers of Congress to override. Given the House barely passed the bill 215-205, with 15 Republicans crossing the aisle to join Democrats in opposition, and the Senate passed the bill 50-48, an override would be unlikely.