Rhode Island Latest State to Push Broadband Privacy Rules

Rhode Island is joining more than a dozen states that have decided to pass their own broadband privacy protections in the wake of the GOP selling out consumer privacy last March. You'll recall the GOP voted along strict party lines in March to kill the FCC's new broadband privacy protections, which were supposed to take effect that month. The rules would have required that ISPs get your express permission before collecting and selling your personal data.

ISPs managed to lobby the GOP and convince the party to kill the rules, insiders recently saying they intentionally used the debate over health care as cover

But states like Rhode Island continue to have something to say about that.

Legislation that would require that ISPs get express permission from consumers before they collect and sell consumer data to third parties is currently winding its way through the Rhode Island legislature. Wisconsin, Washtingon, Montana and countless other states have followed a similar tack, with the protections consistently seeing bipartisan support (despite ISP attempts to frame this as a partisan issue among the public).

Cities like Seattle also passed new ordinances in the hopes of protecting consumers from wholesale collection and sale of their personal data by large ISPs.

The FCC and ISP-loyal lawmakers have stated they intend to try and stop the states from protecting your privacy.

FCC Commissioners Mike O'Rielly and Ajit Pai have both stated that they'd like to find a way to use FCC authority to prevent states from passing such protections . Meanwhile Tennessee Representative Marsha Blackburn, who original helped kill the FCC rules, is pushing her own legislation aimed at passing weaker privacy rules that would pre-empt the state-level legislation. That bill isn't expected to pass.