FCC flooded with fake comments opposing net neutrality

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BY ALI BRELAND - 05/10/17 01:11 PM EDT 55
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© Greg Nash
An internet bot may be filing tens of thousands of fake comments to the Federal Communications Commission opposing the agency's net neutrality rules.

The bot is filing comments with the names of real people. Many of those people were contacted by ZDNet and said they did not file those comments on the FCC site.



The purported bot may have filed over 58,000 identical comments against net neutrality, encouraging the FCC to follow through on Chairman Ajit Pai’s proposal to roll back the controversial internet rules.
The rules require internet service providers to treat all web traffic the same. Pai's plan would hand over regulatory oversight over broadband providers to the Federal Trade Commission and allow companies to voluntarily enact net neutrality principles.

"The unprecedented regulatory power the Obama Administration imposed on the internet is smothering innovation, damaging the American economy and obstructing job creation," the comment posted by the bots reads. "I urge the Federal Communications Commission to end the bureaucratic regulatory overreach of the internet known as Title II and restore the bipartisan light-touch regulatory consensus that enabled the internet to flourish for more than 20 years."

Pai recently unveiled his "Restoring Internet Freedom" plan to undo the Obama-era net neutrality rules, and the agency has begun accepting public comments on the proposal.

The agency has received a flood of comments on the topic after comedian John Oliver blasted Pai's proposal on his Sunday HBO show, "Last Week Tonight."

Shortly after Oliver encouraged people to post comments in favor of the rules, the FCC Electronic Comment Filing System went down.

The agency said it was because of a cyber hit, claiming the site endured a Distributed Denial of Service of attack.

But some Democratic senators have expressed skepticism and questioned and asked for more details on the attack.

Pai’s proposal has been lauded by Republicans in Congress and telecommunications companies who have complained about the net neutrality rules since they were approved in 2015.

Public interest groups and smaller tech firms are fighting to save the rules, saying they are necessary to maintain a level playing field on the internet, and protect consumer interests.


FCC flooded with fake comments opposing net neutrality


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Group accuses Comcast of trying to 'censor' pro-net neutrality site
BY HARPER NEIDIG - 05/24/17 10:52 AM EDT 21
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Comcast has sent a cease-and-desist letter to an advocacy group asking it to shut down a website set up to promote net neutrality.

Fight for the Future created Comcastroturf.com to urge supporters to comment in favor of the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality rules, which are in the process of being repealed.

On Tuesday, the group posted a letter from LookingGlass Cyber, which says it represents Comcast, arguing that the website is in violation of laws prohibiting domain names “confusingly similar” to trademarked names.



Evan Greer, Fight for the Future’s campaign director, disputed the assessment and accused Comcast of trying to censor the group’s advocacy on net neutrality.
“If [FCC Chairman] Ajit Pai’s plan is enacted, there would be nothing preventing Comcast from simply blocking sites like Comcastroturf.com that are critical of their corporate policies,” Greer said in a statement.

“It also makes you wonder what Comcast is so afraid of? Are their lobbying dollars funding the astroturfing effort flooding the FCC with fake comments that we are encouraging Internet users to investigate?”

“Comcast supports strong, legally enforceable net neutrality rules and does not and will not block websites or content," Comcast spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice said in a statement. "Title II does not equal net neutrality. Like most major brand owners, Comcast protects our company and brand names from being used improperly on the Internet by third parties."

"This particular site also raised other legal issues supporting further investigation (for example, the site appears to collect personal information and has no posted privacy policy)," she added. "After reviewing the site further, we do not plan additional action at this time.”
The FCC has started proceedings to undo the net neutrality rules, which require internet service providers to treat all web traffic equally. Broadband companies such as Comcast oppose the rules because they open the industry up to tougher regulation.

The Comcastroturf site was created to draw attention to what appears to be an influx of fraudulent anti-net neutrality comments on the proposal's docket. The advocacy group suggested telecom companies like Comcast were behind the fake comments.

Fight for the Future said that it would not be taking the website down and that it would welcome the chance to make its case in court.

Updated 5:12 p.m.


http://thehill.com/policy/technolog...t-of-trying-to-censor-pro-net-neutrality-site
 
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