Privacy matters. Fight for the superpowers of the internet
There’s been a lot of attention recently around your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and your privacy. Congress recently overturned a regulation that would have ensured that you have a say in how your internet browsing data is used in the future. The overturning of this regulation opens up the possibility of ISPs using your data for their benefit, and possibly to your detriment.
Currently in the US, an incredible 62% of households only have one option for a broadband internet service provider. This means that customers often do not have a say in what their relationship with their providers looks like. When customers aren’t given a choice, there’s no incentive for ISPs to act in a customer friendly manner. In this sort of monopoly situation they can provide bad service, charge high rates, permit terrible customer service and sell your data to the highest bidder. These overturned regulations would have been a good, though small, step toward creating protections and options for customers and their data. An even better solution would be real nationwide competition, forcing the incumbents to focus again on the customer experience and not just on profits.
We’re building a new ISP because we believe broadband internet access is too important in the world to be a monopoly. Everyday there are incredible new services and products launching that provide us with superhuman capabilities. An increasingly common assumption among these products is that they’ll be connected to fast, reliable internet access. Because of this, we think of internet access as the superpower that unlocks all the other superpowers — from taking college courses in your backyard, to watching the Warriors make the playoffs from your couch, to video chatting with Grandparents on the other side of the planet. Access allows us to participate and interact with our world as it exists today, and will only become more important as future technology advances roll out. In order to protect this access, and to make sure the providers are serving your interests and not just their own, customers must have options. They must be able to choose a provider that meets their specific needs and aligns with their values.
We’re proud to institute and practice industry leading privacy and security policies for our customers. When thinking about policies and features for our service, we always start from our core values:
- What’s best for our customers?
- How would we want to be treated?
We know that what’s best for our customers is also what’s best for our company — and we know that we would not want our internet browsing data sold for someone else’s benefit. That’s why we’ve built our service from the ground up, giving us full control over your experience with Common Networks from beginning to end. A holistic approach to building our company, ensures that we’ll never have to compromise our values to provide great service. And that means as a customer you can rest assured, we will not sell your data — or even log it.
We encourage you to contact your provider and ask them what they plan to do with your data.
If you’re lucky enough to not be in a monopoly market, you should explore what alternative options exist in your community for internet access. And if you’re in California’s East Bay, you should check us out at common.net! Be a proactive customer, make your voice heard — and if you can, vote with your dollars to show the incumbents that selling your data might sound good, but it’s bad for their relationships with their customers.
