In a fight over the future of the Internet, 18 state attorneys general have petitioned Ajit Pai’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to cooperate with New York’s Eric Schneiderman in an investigation over fake net neutrality comments that used stolen American identities. Schneiderman, in a separate press release, also announced he would lead a multi-state net neutrality lawsuit.
The FCC lawsuit was announced shortly after the net neutrality vote that approved a repeal of regulations on broadband internet providers.
The FCC’s fraudulent comment problem has been an issue that’s been plaguing the net neutrality debate for some time. Earlier in December, Schneiderman called for the net neutrality vote to be delayed due to what he has called “identity theft on a massive scale.” FCC commissioner Migon Clyburn even referenced the issue in her dissenting vote on Thursday, citing “the FCC’s refusal to cooperate with state attorney general investigations.”
Net Neutrality Lawsuit Letter by Mathew Katz on Scribd
According to the letter sent to the letter sent to the FCC by the 18 attorneys general Thursday, there may be more than a million fake comments submitted about net neutrality. Schneiderman, in a press release, said his investigation shows that 2 million comments stole Americans’ identities.
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“This is a crime under New York law — and the FCC’s decision to go ahead with the vote makes it a mockery of government integrity and rewards the very perpetrators who scammed the system to advance their own agenda,” says Schneiderman. It’s unclear at this time if the 18 attorneys general who wrote to the FCC have signed on to Schneiderman’s net neutrality lawsuit.