If President Donald Trump signs the bill congress just passed, Internet service providers (ISPs) like AT&T or Comcast would be able to collect your search history or location data and sell it to the highest bidder.
Students at the University of Illinois Springfield are working on an app to protect yourself, and there are steps you can take to be safe.
Students and faculty at UIS say the thought of service providers selling your data is scary.
"Private companies can sell your data already, but the fact that ISPs have direct access to your data because you go through them when you use the internet, and now they can sell your data," Brian Rogers said. "That is worrisome for me."
Computer science professor Ronald Loui says it's not just a privacy issue, it's a national security issue.
He's worried criminals will buy data and use it to blackmail people working in high security government jobs.
"We know you do this," Loui said. "We know your sexual preference. We know your medical history. We know some of your browsing habits. Your employer would not like that. Maybe you're not embarrassed, but your employer would be. And all we ask is what time they lock the doors at night."
The story was reported by WICS-TV 20 on March 30, 2017.
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