Associated Press

Gov Phil Scott (R-VT) is working to ensure that all state contracts with internet providers include network neutrality protections. He signed an executive order that applies to all state departments, commissions and boards.

The Washington House on Feb 9 passed a bill meant to ensure the state's residents don't see a disruption in internet service. House Bill 2282 passed on a strong bipartisan 93-5 vote and now heads to the Senate for consideration. Under the measure, internet providers are prohibited from blocking content or impairing traffic. The bill also would require providers to disclose information about their management practices, performance and commercial terms. Violations would be enforceable under the state's Consumer Protection Act.

A bill to prohibit internet service providers from prioritizing or blocking certain websites based on content or hosting platform was killed Feb 6 in a Virginia House subcommittee. The House Commerce and Labor subcommittee voted 5-0 against the bill, with one abstention. VA Delegate Greg Habeeb (R-Salem) chair of the subcommittee, argued that the bill would prompt broadband providers to pull out of Virginia.

Lawmakers in Rhode Island have introduced legislation to counter the repeal of federal network neutrality rules. RI state Rep Aaron Regunberg (D-Providence), introduced a bill to allow Rhode Island to preserve net neutrality as much as possible following the Federal Communications Commission’s repeal of the policy. State Rep Regunberg, lieutenant governor candidate, says it would require internet access purchased or funded by the state be provided in an unbiased manner, consistent with net neutrality principles.

The Federal Communications Commission is following through on its promise to work with corrections and public safety officials to combat contraband cellphones in the nation’s prisons, setting a meeting in Feb to work on the issue.  The meeting among state and federal prisons officials, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice, has been scheduled for February 7 at FCC headquarters.

The same Russian government-aligned hackers who penetrated the Democratic Party have spent the past few months laying the groundwork for an espionage campaign against the U.S. Senate, a cybersecurity firm said. The revelation suggests the group often nicknamed Fancy Bear, whose hacking campaign scrambled the 2016 U.S. electoral contest, is still busy trying to gather the emails of America’s political elite.