Hill, The

Gov Gina Raimondo (D-RI) ordered state agencies to use internet providers who observe network neutrality rules. Gov Raimondo said she issued the executive order so Rhode Islanders can “rely on the free exchange of information on the internet including the ability to access the content of their choosing.” The order mimics legislation pending in the state’s General Assembly that is intended to incentivize internet providers into following the Obama-era rules repealed by President Trump’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

An advocacy group is suing the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for records on Facebook’s privacy practices, arguing that there’s a “clear public interest” in learning details about the social media giant’s policies following revelations of a data scandal.  The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act to push for the unredacted release of biennial privacy assessments that Facebook agreed to submit under a 2011 consent agreement with the FTC.

The Federal Communications Commission’s top lawyer says that Republican commissioners who attended the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) earlier in 2018 did not violate any ethics rules. FCC General Counsel Thomas Johnson Jr. said that the appearance by the three GOP commissioners was in line with ethics requirements because even though CPAC is a conservative event, it’s nonpartisan.