Commissioner Rosenworcel, NY AG Call for Delay of Net Neutrality Vote Over Fake Comments

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel of the Federal Communications Commission said that widespread irregularities tied to network neutrality feedback, including at least 1 million phony comments, have tainted the public commenting process. The allegations are buttressing a campaign by online activists and government officials who oppose the FCC's plan to dismantle net neutrality rules.

In a review of FCC comments over the past six months, Schneiderman's office found that at least 1 million submissions may have impersonated Americans, including as many as 50,000 New York residents — a potential violation of state law. Millions more comments probably were submitted by nonexistent people, he said. Still, according to Schniederman, the FCC has refused to provide help to determine who may be responsible for the alleged fake commenting. Schneiderman said that the inspector general's office of the FCC offered its help only Dec 4, ahead of the news conference. Schneiderman called for a federal investigation and for the FCC to push back its planned vote to strip net neutrality rules. “They just have to stop this vote,” he said. “You cannot conduct a legitimate vote on a rulemaking proceeding if you have a record that is in shambles, as this one is.”

Tina Pelkey, a spokeswoman for the FCC, responded in a statement Dec 4: “At today’s news conference, they didn’t identify a single comment relied upon in the draft order as being questionable. This is an attempt by people who want to keep the Obama Administration’s heavy-handed Internet regulations to delay the vote because they realize that their effort to defeat the plan to restore Internet freedom has stalled.”