6 May 2021
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) received a total of 22 million comments regarding the 2017 effort to repeal net neutrality during former President Donald Trump’s administration, of which the majority were fake.
A multi-year investigation found that fake comments accounted for nearly 18 million of the 22 million comments the FCC received during its 2017 rulemaking, the New York State Office of the Attorney General Letitia James found in a newly released report.
This type of fraud has had a major impact on our democracy since “Federal and state agencies rely on public comments to set standards that govern many aspects of our lives, from public health to consumer protection to the environment,” the report continued.
Print this article
Broadband companies paid for millions of fraudulent comments supporting the Trump-era repeal of net neutrality rules, according to an investigation in New York.
Nearly 8.5 million fake comments to the Federal Communications Commission and half a million letters to Congress were paid for by the nation s largest broadband companies, said a report released on Thursday by the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Of the more than 22 million comments received by the FCC during its 2017 rule-making, the report said nearly 18 million were fake, including comments both in favor of and against net neutrality.
The report said the companies banded together through an organization called Broadband for America, a nonprofit group funded by the broadband industry. Together, they hired companies known as lead generators to generate comments favorable to their cause.
Communications services companies rose amid deal activity. NBCUniversal has explored putting its regional sports channels on the streaming service Peacock or selling them off, as the company tries to figure out a future for a business under increasing stress, The Wall Street Journal reported. Sports media concern The Athletic has ended merger talks with Internet publisher Axios and has entered talks with the New York Times. Nearly 18 million fake comments were filed with the Federal Communications Commission over its proposal to scale back internet regulation, fueled by both opponents and supporters of the rule, an investigation by the New York attorney general s office found.
New federal effort expected to help disconnect most robocallers
Robocalls have been at the top of consumer complaint lists for years. And for years, the Federal Communications Commission has been trying to stop them. Finally, after years of unenforceable deadlines, help is on the way.
3 Companies Settle Over Millions of Fake Comments on FCC’s Net Neutrality Rollback New York State Attorney General Letitia James Kathy Willens/AP Get the need-to-know news for current and aspiring technology executives.
email May 6, 2021 05:57 PM ET
Broadband companies funded an effort responsible for 8.5 million fraudulent comments supporting the repeal, according to a New York attorney general report.
Three companies responsible for millions of fake comments submitted to the Federal Communications Commission ahead of its 2017 vote to repeal net neutrality have entered into settlements with the New York Office of Attorney General.
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the settlements Thursday along with the results of a multiyear investigation and recommendations for agencies to fix the comment-making process. According to the report, nearly all of the 22 million comments regarding the net neutrality vot