Weirdly, Trump's Right on Privacy

On one issue, at least, President Donald Trump has united the country: More than 70 percent of the public -- across political parties -- oppose a bill he signed that rolls back rules protecting online privacy. Unfortunately, it's an issue on which Trump and the Republican Congress happen to be mostly right.

The rules in question, which hadn't yet come into effect, would have required broadband providers to ask customers' permission before collecting personal data for use in selling ads. That sounds sensible. In reality, it most likely would have raised prices for consumers without doing much to protect privacy. The public's support for these rules points to a central confusion about the $83 billion market in digital advertising.