This sobering Twitter stream explains how the gutting of #BroadbandPrivacy in the U.S. will impact LGBTQ people

As the FCC’s pro-privacy rules are overturned by Congress, Evan Greer, Campaign Director at Fight For the Future, highlights how this move will disproportionately affect LGBTQ people.

They did it – the House and Senate voted to overturn pro-privacy Internet rules that the FCC established back in October 2016. The legislation is now just waiting to be signed off by President Trump, who’s been recommended to approve it by his advisors.

The FCC’s rules would have required ISPs to obtain your opt-in consent in order to share your browsing data with advertisers and third parties. But now that the rules look set to be overturned, your browsing history and other private information is fair game to be sold by your Internet provider to the highest bidder. What’s even more concerning is that Congress has even forbidden the FCC from being able to issue a similar regulation in future.

This is not only a worrying setback for the privacy of every U.S. Internet user. Violations of digital privacy also represent a heightened risk for communities who are already subject to an uphill battle in the fight for their rights.

Evan Greer, the tireless Campaigns Director over at Fight For the Future, explained in a series of poignant tweets what this setback means for LGBTQ people –a community that, as she mentions, will be disproportionately impacted by this legislation.

Evan composed her sobering Twitter thread just before the House vote, and we want to reshare it here in full to give it an even larger audience — check out what she has to say, and don’t forget to RT to spread the word.

What can we do about it?

Last chance: Tell President Trump to Protect Internet Privacy

Our friends at Fight for the Future are keeping up this fight until the end and have an urgent petition asking President Trump to stop this bill from becoming law. Make sure to add your support right now at: savebroadbandprivacy.org

You can also protect yourself and limit your data from being collected by…

• Checking out this #GetSafe guide that gets you started with six easy steps for both mobile and desktop devices.

• Using a VPN when you browse the Internet — at OpenMedia we’ve worked with VPNs including ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Private Internet Access, and Tunnelbear, and there are many other good VPNs out there. Check out this guide on how to choose a VPN that’s right for you.

• Opting out of behavioral advertising where you have the option to do so

• Enabling the “Do Not Track” function on your mobile and desktop browsers — not all advertisers respect this setting but some large ones do.

• Use encrypted apps and software as much as possible — check out these suggestions from our friends at EFF.

• “Vote In Representatives That Will Legislate For Our Digital Age" like the folks at Autostraddle suggest.

Last but not least, don’t forget to tell your friends how this decision is going to impact them and how they can limit their online exposure. So please spread the word and ask them to sign the Fight for the Future petition and share it widely on Facebook and Twitter.