New York Attorney General Expands Inquiry Into Net Neutrality Comments

Apparently, New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood subpoenaed more than a dozen telecommunications trade groups, lobbying contractors, and Washington advocacy organizations, seeking to determine whether the groups submitted millions of fraudulent public comments to sway a critical federal decision on internet regulation. Some of the groups played a highly public role in 2017’s battle, when the Federal Communications Commission voted to revoke rules that classified internet service providers as public utilities. NY AG Underwood’s investigators have estimated that almost half of all of the comments — more than nine million — used stolen identities. "The FCC’s public comment process was corrupted by millions of fake comments,” NY AG Underwood said. “The law protects New Yorkers from deception and the misuse of their identities. My office will get to the bottom of what happened and hold accountable those responsible for using stolen identities to distort public opinion on net neutrality.” In Sept, the New York Times sued the FCC to obtain digital records that would help trace the source of the public comments. The case is continuing.