The Federal Communications Commission has set its sights on Internet service providers, formalizing an understanding with state attorneys general to protect consumer data and police privacy abuses. Initially, the memoranda of understanding (MOU) with the FCC’s Privacy and Data Protection Task Force includes the attorneys general of Connecticut, Illinois, New York and Pennsylvania, but could expand. As per the MOU, the entities will “share close and common legal interests in working cooperatively to investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute or otherwise take enforcement action” in relation to privacy, data protection and cybersecurity issues.

“Currently, the Federal Trade Commission has authority over broadband data privacy and security issues, but the Federal Communications Commission’s Democratic majority is in the process of bringing the Internet under its regulatory authority by reclassifying broadband access as a Title II telecommunications service subject to its regulation,” Multichannel News reports.

While the FCC cites sections 201 and 222 of the Communications Act as its area of overlap with the state watchdogs, the agency states in its announcement that “coordinated action and information sharing will take place under all applicable federal and state laws and privacy protections.”

“I am thankful to these four partners for prioritizing interagency cooperation, and we welcome other state leaders to join us in this effort to ensure we work together to protect consumers and their data,” FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel says in the announcement.

Of the four initial partner states, The National Law Review writes that they “have been some of the most aggressive privacy and data security regulators in the past, making these MOUs especially noteworthy.”

The collaboration will see the state AGs getting assistance from the FCC Enforcement Bureau’s staff with things like subpoenas, explains Multichannel News, calling the MOU “unprecedented,” but likening it to a recent partnership with state AGs in cracking down on robocalls.

The National Law Review points out that Section 222 of the Communications Act “generally requires carriers and VoIP providers to protect their customer proprietary network information (CPNI), such as service-related billing information,” explaining that current rules require carriers and VoIP providers to “notify customers, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Secret Service of data breaches that may have exposed CPNI.”

FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan Egal says that in addition to protecting sensitive data at home, the new state partnerships will aid the agency in investigating and prosecuting foreign cybercriminals.