Form Letters, Fake Comments 'Did Not Affect' FCC Decision on Net Neutrality Rules, Pai Says

Form letters and fraudulent filings submitted to the FCC during its the public comment process in the net neutrality rescission rulemaking (see 1708030054) “did not affect” the commission's “ability to review the record, respond to comments that raised significant issues, and make a reasoned judgment,” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a letter to Rep. Mike Capuano, D-Mass., released Monday evening. Capuano raised concerns in December, before the 3-2 vote, about “widespread reports of fraudulent comments being submitted to the FCC” on the proceeding and said it was “simply not responsible to rush a vote” when “there is so much concern.” House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and other committee Democrats have asked the DOJ and the FBI to investigate the “potentially illegal” use of stolen and fake identities to comment in federal rulemaking proceedings, including to the FCC proceeding that resulted in the vote to rescind Communications Act Title II net neutrality rules from 2015. GAO also agreed to review the fake comments issue (see 1706280043 and 1801240024). Any “reasonable review” of the rescission order would demonstrate the FCC “painstakingly engaged with the voluminous public record in this proceeding … in reaching its conclusions,” Pai said. “To the extent you are concerned with non-substantive comments submitted under multiple different names that stated simply that the commenter supported or was opposed to the Title II classification without substantive explanation, as you can see in the Order, the agency did not rely on or cite any such comments.” The commission doesn't “attribute greater weight to comments based on the submitter's identity,” which is why the FCC “has never burdened commenters with providing identity verification or expended the massive amount of resources necessary to verify commenters' identities,” Pai said. Rather “than dwell on how well automated or form submission reflect actual popular support, the Commission has instead focused on encouraging robust participation in its proceedings and ensuring it has considered how the substance of submitted comments bear on the legal and public policy consequences of its actions."