Posted on 11/22/2017 3:14:11 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) is investigating what he calls a massive scheme to corrupt the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with fake public comments on net neutrality.
In an open letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, Schneiderman said the agency hasn't provided him with information "critical" to an investigation his office is conducting.
Schneiderman said in a tweet his office has been investigating a "massive scheme" over the last six months to "corrupt the FCC's comment process on net neutrality by impersonating 100,000s of real Americans."
In the letter, Schneiderman wrote that 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’ identities — and the FCC has been unwilling to assist my office in our efforts to investigate this unlawful activity."
His letter comes after Pai announced on Tuesday that the FCC will vote to roll back Obama-era net neutrality rules that require internet service providers to treat all web traffic equally.
Pai in a statement blasted the rules as "heavy-handed, utility-style" regulation of the internet imposed by Democrats.
Schneiderman's letter continues: "Specifically, for six months my office has been investigating who perpetrated a massive scheme to corrupt the FCC’s notice and comment process through the misuse of enormous numbers of real New Yorkers’ and other Americans’ identities.
"Such conduct likely violates state law — 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."
Schneiderman wrote that his office found tens of thousands of New Yorkers may have had their identities "misused."
He said in June 2017 his office contacted the FCC to request records relating to its public comment system. He said his office made the request for logs and other records at least nine times over the past five months and had asked multiple top FCC officials for assistance.
"Yet we have received no substantive response to our investigative requests. None," he wrote.
"We all have a powerful reason to hold accountable those who would steal Americans’ identities and assault the public’s right to be heard in government rulemaking," the letter said.
"If law enforcement can’t investigate and (where appropriate) prosecute when it happens on this scale, the door is open for it to happen again and again."
Schneiderman encouraged the FCC to reconsider its "refusal" to help his office's law enforcement investigation "identify and hold accountable those who illegally misused so many New Yorkers' 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’ decision-making processes," he wrote.
“may have”. /Eyeroll
What is this Schneiderman’s (I’ve never heard of him) evidence that American identities were stolen? And we all should just trust this rat a-hole?
Doesn’t want Americans’ identities to be stolen? Ever heard of illegal aliens and social security ID’s?
All comments will have to be policed to determine if they are real or “fake”? Ya gotta be kidding me.
What a jerk. This is a clone of the “Russians influenced the election” with fully equivalent stupidity.
How does this go? He evaluates some number of comments and derives some conclusion as to how many are from “real” people and how many are from synthetic people. OK, 62% are from synthetics. Do those people now come in for some sort of sanction?
And now there would have to be a way to correlate “real” commenters with their pro or con view(s). Suppose the synthetic people opposed net neutrality, NN. The FCC ruled against NN. Therefore, their “con” ruling must now be assumed to be a reflection of synthetic opinions? Because much like global warming, I suppose any sane person would only opt for NN, thus the ruling must be invalid?
And how much weighting did the FCC give to the comments? Versus their own discussions and evaluations?
This question is utterly indeterminable, this is nothing but an exercise for Schneiderman to portray himself as some sort of SJW. Like that would be a surprise.
they just make this up as they go along.. don’t they..
The comment process isn’t a vote. It’s a way to solicit opinions. Schneiderman’s upset because the libs want “net neutrality.”
If the NY AG is involved, it’s a Dem manipulation. They accuse others of doing what they actually do themselves. Typical narcissists!
This guy Schneiderman is an agitated wimp with grandiose ambitions. Money used to investigate his background would be well spent.
It all ties into the liberals plan to investigate
conservatives to death.
Investigate Trump...russians.
Investigate NRA...russians.
Investigate FCC...
The continuing Democrat playbook...
The excuse when they only listen to lobbyists who dine them and have cash.
Does Net Neuter taken on Twitter, youtube, and Facebook delisting and supressing conservative ideas?
From wiki:
In August 2013, Schneiderman filed a $40 million civil lawsuit against Donald Trump for his “Trump University” (now known as Trump Entrepreneur Initiative), alleging it to be an “unlicensed university”[26] and calling it a “bait-and-switch scheme.”[27] Trump denied all accusations, calling Schneiderman a “political hack.”[28]
Good catch.
"We need to take full control of the Internet, censor everything you are likely to see on the Internet...for your own good. You know, those Russians sneak in and post bad stuff about good folks like Hillary and its just plain dangerous!"
Maybe Schneiderman is relying on computer models.
Maybe he’ll turn out to be another Spitzer. Who knows?
What's the evidence. Is the NRA pushing Mosin-Nagants and AK-47's?
I was a staff attorney at the FCC for a few months right out of law school (oh the people that “work” there...). In any notice of proposed rulemaking (or similar) we were inundated with messages and filings from regular citizens on any number of issues. Some of them were real doozies, some even came from prisoners with nothing better to do than write a letter. Never did anyone ever ask to see the comments that had come in. Total overreach.
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