{"id":87358,"date":"2017-12-11T03:29:09","date_gmt":"2017-12-11T08:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=87358"},"modified":"2017-12-10T16:52:53","modified_gmt":"2017-12-10T21:52:53","slug":"schneiderman-releases-open-letter-to-fcc-net-neutrality-public-comment-process-corrupted-by-massive-scheme-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=87358","title":{"rendered":"Schneiderman releases open letter to FCC: Net neutrality public comment process corrupted by ‘massive scheme’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Schneiderman: Tens Of Thousands Of New Yorkers May Have Had Their Identities Misused To Drown Out Views Of Real People During FCC Public Comment Period<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

As FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced its plan to dismantle the net neutrality regulations that ensure a free and open internet, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman released an open letter regarding the massive scheme to corrupt the FCC\u2019s notice and comment process through the misuse of enormous numbers of real New Yorkers\u2019 and other Americans\u2019 identities. That scheme is under investigation by the Attorney General\u2019s office; however, to date, the FCC has refused to provide the office with information that is critical to the investigation.<\/span><\/p>\n

In May 2017, researchers and reporters discovered that the FCC\u2019s public comment process was being corrupted by the submission of enormous numbers of fake comments concerning the possible repeal of net neutrality rules. The Attorney General\u2019s office analyzed the fake comments and found that tens of thousands of New Yorkers \u2013 and hundreds of thousands of Americans\u00a0\u2013may have had their identities misused. While some of these fake comments used made up names and addresses, many misused the real names and addresses of actual people as part of the effort to undermine the integrity of the comment process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Attorney General’s office reached out for assistance to multiple top FCC officials, including Chairman Pai, three successive acting FCC General Counsels, and the FCC’s Inspector General, but has received no substantive response to its investigative requests.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHundreds of thousands of Americans likely were victimized during the FCC’s public comment process on net neutrality. That\u2019s akin to identity theft, and it happened on a massive scale.\u201d wrote\u00a0Schneiderman\u00a0in his open letter. \u201cI encourage the FCC to reconsider its refusal to assist in my office\u2019s law enforcement investigation to identify and hold accountable those who illegally misused so many New Yorkers\u2019 identities to corrupt the public comment process.”<\/p>\n

“In an era where foreign governments have indisputably tried to use the internet and social media to influence our elections, federal and state governments should be working together to ensure that malevolent actors cannot subvert our administrative agencies\u2019 decision-making processes,” wrote\u00a0Schneiderman.<\/p>\n

Read the Attorney General’s full open letter here<\/a><\/u>\u00a0and below:<\/span><\/p>\n

Dear FCC Chairman Ajit Pai:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Recent press reports suggest that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), under your leadership, soon will release rules to dismantle your agency\u2019s existing \u201cnet neutrality\u201d protections under Title II of the Communications Act, which shield the public from anti-consumer behaviors of the giant cable companies that provide high-speed internet to most people. In today\u2019s digital age, the rules that govern the operation and delivery of internet service to hundreds of millions of Americans are critical to the economic and social well-being of the nation. Yet the process the FCC has employed to consider potentially sweeping alterations to current net neutrality rules has been corrupted by the fraudulent use of Americans\u2019 identities <\/em>\u2014 <\/em>and the FCC has been unwilling to assist my office in our efforts to investigate this unlawful activity.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Specifically, for six months my office has been investigating who perpetrated a massive scheme to corrupt the FCC\u2019s notice and comment process through the misuse of enormous numbers of real New Yorkers\u2019 and other Americans\u2019 identities. Such conduct likely violates state law <\/em>\u2014 <\/em>yet the FCC has refused multiple requests for crucial evidence in its sole possession that is vital to permit that law enforcement investigation to proceed.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

In April 2017, the FCC announced that it would issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concerning repeal of its existing net neutrality rules. Federal law requires the FCC and all federal agencies to take public comments on proposed rules into account <\/em>\u2014 <\/em>so it is important that the public comment process actually enable the voices of the millions of individuals and businesses who will be affected to be heard. That\u2019s important no matter one\u2019s position on net neutrality, environmental rules, and so many other areas in which federal agencies regulate.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

In May 2017, researchers and reporters discovered that the FCC\u2019s public comment process was being corrupted by the submission of enormous numbers of fake comments concerning the possible repeal of net neutrality rules. In doing so, the perpetrator or perpetrators attacked what is supposed to be an open public process by attempting to drown out and negate the views of the real people, businesses, and others who honestly commented on this important issue. Worse, while some of these fake comments used made up names and addresses, many misused the real names and addresses of actual people as part of the effort to undermine the integrity of the comment process. That\u2019s akin to identity theft, and it happened on a massive scale.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

My office analyzed the fake comments and found that tens of thousands of New Yorkers may have had their identities misused in this way. (Indeed, analysis showed that, in all, hundreds of thousands of Americans likely were victimized in the same way, including tens of thousands per state in California, Georgia, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and possibly others.) Impersonation and other misuse of a person\u2019s identity violates New York law, so my office launched an investigation.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Successfully investigating this sort of illegal conduct requires the participation of the agency whose system was attacked. So in June 2017, we contacted the FCC to request certain records related to its public comment system that were necessary to investigate which bad actor or actors were behind the misconduct. We made our request for logs and other records at least 9 times over 5 months: in June, July, August, September, October (three times) and November.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

We reached out for assistance to multiple top FCC officials, including you, three successive acting FCC General Counsels, and the FCC\u2019s Inspector General. We offered to keep the requested records confidential, as we had done when my office and the FCC shared information and documents as part of past investigative work.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Yet we have received no substantive response to our investigative requests. None.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

This investigation isn\u2019t about the substantive issues concerning net neutrality. For my part, I have long publicly advocated for strong net neutrality rules under the Title II of the Communications Act, and studies show that the overwhelming majority of Americans who took the time to write public comments to the FCC about the issue feel the same way while a very small minority favor repeal.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

But this isn\u2019t about that. It\u2019s about the right to control one\u2019s own identity and prevent the corruption of a process designed to solicit the opinion of real people and institutions. Misuse of identity online by the hundreds of thousands should concern everyone <\/em>\u2014 <\/em>for and against net neutrality, New Yorker or Texan, Democrat or Republican.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

We all have a powerful reason to hold accountable those who would steal Americans\u2019 identities and assault the public\u2019s right to be heard in government rulemaking. If law enforcement can\u2019t investigate and (where appropriate) prosecute when it happens on this scale, the door is open for it to happen again and again.\u00a0 I encourage the FCC to reconsider its refusal to assist in my office\u2019s law enforcement investigation to identify and hold accountable those who illegally misused so many New Yorkers\u2019 identities to corrupt the public comment process. In an era where foreign governments have indisputably tried to use the internet and social media to influence our elections, federal and state governments should be working together to ensure that malevolent actors cannot subvert our administrative agencies\u2019 decision-making processes.<\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Sincerely,<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Eric T. Schneiderman<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Schneiderman: Tens Of Thousands Of New Yorkers May Have Had Their Identities Misused To Drown Out Views Of Real People During FCC Public Comment Period As FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced its plan to dismantle the net neutrality regulations that ensure a free and open internet, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman released an open letter regarding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":70131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23810,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wellbeing","category-top-story"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p43meu-mJ0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/madisoncountycourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Attorny_General_Eric_T_Schneiderman.jpg?fit=260%2C221&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=87358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87358\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/70131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=87358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=87358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=87358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}