Schneiderman Concerned Over Scheme To Corrupt FCC Hearing On Net Nutrality

ALBANY – State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and his staff are investigating “a massive scheme to corrupt” the Federal Communications Commission’s public comments on net neutrality. He wrote a letter to the FCC Chairman Wednesday raising his concerns.

The FCC has announced it will decide Dec. 14 whether or not to undo net neutrality regulations that require Internet providers to treat all web traffic equally.

 The FCC held a public comment hearing process.

“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,” Schneiderman wrote.

According to Schneiderman, the investigation is at least six months old and involves people “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.” Schneiderman charges that the FCC has been “unwilling to provide information that is critical to the investigation.”

At least nine times during the last several months, the AG’s office contacted the FCC to request records relating to its public comment system, including logs and other records, he said.

“Yet we have received no substantive response to our investigative requests. None,” he wrote.