Surprising Facts on ISP Visibility into Internet Activity
Peter Swire
Huang Professor of Law and Ethics
Georgia Institute of Technology
State of the Net 2016
January 25, 2016
Introduc)on– Ahottopic–roleofISPsinInternet,includingwhatprivacyrules
shouldapply– Thisresearch:
• Descrip)onofthefacts,notpolicyrecommenda)ons– Accuratedescrip)oniskeytogoodpolicy
• Respondstoques)onsraisedbyFCCwhenItes)fiedinAprilhearingonbroadbandprivacy
• Detailedreportexpectedwithinamonth,withmycolleaguesJus)nHemmings&AlanaKirkland
• Ifanyoneseesmistakesinourfacts(noworaMerpublica)on),letusknowandwewillcorrect
• Idisagreewithtwofactualstatementsinprivacygroups’lePerlastweek.IdidnotseethelePerun)laMeritwaspublished,andsocouldnotcommentonitpre-publica)on.
• Ihaveworkedcloselywithmanyofthesignatoriesforyears.Ihopeandexpecttodosogoingforward.
Contras)ngViews
• LePerlastweek:ISPshave“comprehensive”visibilityintouserInternetac8vity
• Ourresearch:• No• SSLencryp8onblockscontent
• SSLencryp8onblocksdetailedlinks
• Encryp8onisbecomingpredominant
Contras)ngViews-VPNs
• LePerlastweek:“Noristhereanywayforconsumerstoavoiddatacollec)onbytheen))esthatprovideInternetaccessservice.”
• Ourresearch:• VPNsblockISPaccesstocontentanddetailedlinks.
• VPNsalsoblocktop-levelURL.
• ConsumerscanuseVPNs,andmanydo.
The1990sandISPs
1. Desktopathome2. Unencryptedcommunica)ons3. ISPdoesDNSlook-up
Allofthathaschanged,alot:1. Mul)pledevices,oMenloggedinatWifispots2. Encryp)on3. VPNsandotherproxyservices
Conclusion• Theseimportantpolicyissuesshouldbefoundedoncarefulandaccurate
understandingoftoday’s(andtomorrow’s)technologyandmarkets• Encryp)onappliesbroadlytodaytokeyInternetac)vi)es,including:
– E-commerce– Search– SocialNetworks– Textmessaging(overthetop=Internet)– Internetvideo(in2016)– Webmail
• VPNsandotherproxyserversarealsolargeandgrowing• ClaimsthatISPhave“unique”or“comprehensive”accesstouserdata
mustbetestedagainsttheseimportantfacts
Credits• ImagesforaPribu)ontoMarieLePichon,underaCrea)veCommons
APribu)on4.0license.• Researchsupportfrom:GeorgiaTechSchellerCollegeofBusiness;Georgia
TechIns)tuteforInforma)onSecurityandPrivacy;BroadbandforAmerica.