On December 2, 2016, the FCC's
Broadband Privacy Report and Order ("Order") was
published in the Federal Register, triggering the 30-day deadline
for petitions for reconsideration, and the effective dates for
certain new requirements adopted in the Order, as we discuss below.
In addition, petitions for review in a court of appeals may be
filed within 60 days. The Republican Commissioners in dissenting
statements and in public comments have criticized the Commission
for applying "asymmetric regulation", since the new rules
regulate the privacy practices of broadband providers but do not
regulate similar practices of edge providers. In many respects, the
Order follows the traditional sector approach applied by the FTC
and other federal agencies in protecting sensitive personal
information that is protected under specific federal statutes, such
as financial and health information. The Order, however, expands
upon these prior privacy approaches to extend heightened
