The FCC Doesn't Care That Somebody's Spamming Its Net Neutrality Proceeding With Fraudulent Comments

from the turning-a-big-blind-eye dept

As we recently noted, more than 40% of the 2.5 million comments filed with the FCC on net neutrality are entirely fake. The comments, which oppose net neutrality, have been posted using a bot that's pulling the names used from a hacked database of some kind. When the people that own the actual names behind these comments have been contacted by the media, many have stated they didn't make the comments, and/or have no idea what net neutrality even is.

In an ideal world, the FCC would easily parse out these obviously fraudulent, duplicate comments and shore up the abuse of its API. But because these comments support the current FCC's belief that meaningful net neutrality protections are somehow an assault on "American freedom," the FCC appears poised to completely disregard the fact that a malicious actor is manipulating the FCC's systems. The FCC isn't candidly admitting this, but FCC boss Ajit Pai's non-statements and statements alike so far indicate he's inclined to include the obviously fraudulent comments:

"The FCC didn’t respond to repeated requests to specifically say whether it would filter out the astroturfed comments. Speaking to reporters after announcing a step toward rolling back existing net neutrality protections, FCC Chair Ajit Pai admitted “a tension between having an open process where it’s easy to comment and preventing questionable comments from being filed.” “Generally speaking, this agency has erred on the side of openness,” he said."

When pushed, FCC officials have said they'll purge comments made under obviously phony names, but isn't willing to comment further on the obvious blind eye to manipulation of the comment system:

"Pai said the agency wouldn’t consider comments with obviously fake names, like Wonder Woman and Joseph Stalin, but declined to go further. Reached for comment after Pai’s statement, an FCC official declined to comment specifically on astroturfed comments. "You heard his answer on erring on the side of inclusion," the official said.

And again, the FCC is turning a blind eye to this fraudulent behavior because actual humans overwhelmingly oppose what Pai and friends are up to. Recent analysis of the comments made so far to the FCC indicate the vast, vast majority of consumers -- across all political ideologies -- don't want the agency gutting meaningful oversight of the already uncompetitive broadband sector. That could be problematic later this year, when Pai faces inevitable lawsuits over his rush to kill the protections despite no corresponding market necessity, and the broad public support for the rules.

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Filed Under: fake comments, fcc, net neutrality, trolls


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  1. identicon
    Anon, 24 May 2017 @ 6:25am

    Quick, someone make an astroturfing bot that just goes through the phonebook at random!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 6:27am

    I swear, if I had the resources I would start an ISP in a bunch of red states and anytime anyone tried to access Foxnews.com, NRA.org or anything like that, I would have it redirect to a page that says "SCREW YOU, THIS IS WHAT THE WEB LOOKS LIKE WITHOUT NET NEUTRALITY" and then send them to picture of same-sex minority couples getting married just to finish off blowing their minds.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Jason, 24 May 2017 @ 6:28am

    Regrettably, I missed the narrow window between the system getting overwhelmed and their pause for reflection (or whatever) so I didn't get to submit anything yet. Is there a way to submit comments in the mail? Maybe a physical submission---stamp, signature and everything---would reinforce the "I'm a real human being!" side of the argument?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. icon
    John Peacock (profile), 24 May 2017 @ 6:28am

    Good for the goose, good for the gander

    I wonder what there response would be to a bot-driven comment torrent that opposed rolling back net neutrality? I suspect they would immediately say that those comments have to be ignored...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
    identicon
    My_Name_Here, 24 May 2017 @ 6:44am

    And why not? Techdirt gets Leigh to fake my comments to make me look like an idiot. What's good for Masnick is good for Pai.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    peter, 24 May 2017 @ 6:45am

    How naive of you

    What made you think that having 'open' comments and the chance for the 'pubic to have their say' would make the slightest difference to the result? It is there simply so they can swat away any criticism of their decision with a statement of how 'open' and 'responsive to public opinion' the proceedings were.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 6:48am

    I wonder what databases of names Pai has access to?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 6:53am

    Pai doesn't care in the least! as far as he's concerned, the only comments he's interested in are those from the ISPs and media companies, all of which back what he's doing as it will be to their advantage, while screwing the American people! on top of which, of course, is that those same 'interested companies' just happen to be the ones i strongly suspect are 'encouraging' Pai (with pieces of 8, to coin a phrase!) to take this particular road!!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 7:01am

    Re:

    Interracial same-sex minority couples. No need to miss some potential trigger points in their blind hatred.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 7:05am

    Re:

    Already flagged, troll. Stop commenting on a site that you claim is out to get you. We will gladly ignore you for the rest of your life, if you simply stop visiting the site. You have mental problems and suffer from a victim complex. Get actual help or stop complaining about how the world is doing its best to make your life harder, when you are the idiot going the wrong way.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  11. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 7:11am

    Gee Whiz, I wonder who might be behind the comments? Perhaps the FCC itself? If the FCC is hell-bent on scrapping neutrality of the net and at the same time under the microscope about the matter it seems like common sense that they're manufacturing these comments to let themselves off the hook. I would even go so far as to say it is painfully obvious that they're behind it.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  12. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 7:16am

    Re:

    Techdirt gets Leigh to fake my comments to make me look like an idiot

    It's cute that you think you need any intervention to do so.

    Trying for "funniest post" again this week, are we?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  13. identicon
    Baron von Robber, 24 May 2017 @ 7:25am

    Re:

    You don't need any help to look like an idiot.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  14. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 7:29am

    Re:

    "Techdirt gets Leigh to fake my comments to make me look like an idiot."

    Something tells me you don't need any help there.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  15. icon
    PaulT (profile), 24 May 2017 @ 7:30am

    Re:

    No, you do the "looking like an idiot" part all by yourself.

    Incessantly whining and lying about people, while ignoring the clearly available remedies to your self-inflicted situation, only add the icing.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  16. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 7:43am

    Of course they don't care.

    They've already made their decision and just going through the motions and doing kabuki theater until they can finalize it.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  17. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 7:59am

    Re:

    well its not like we didn't vote or support any of this.

    If you spend your time building a machine that can be used to blow you up, you have little to bitch about when someone makes it go "pop" in your face.

    It's funny that people understand why it is dangerous for back-doors to exist in computing but support the "social" backdoor that industry uses to corrupt their elected officials.

    You guys are clearly not the sharpest tools in the shed!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  18. icon
    K`Tetch (profile), 24 May 2017 @ 8:14am

    Re:

    They reopened it 23 hours ago, and will be open until August 16th.
    https://www.facebook.com/FCC/posts/10154836457744671

    link to this | view in thread ]

  19. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 8:28am

    Re:

    Fortunately, such states already have regulations making it extremely difficult to start an ISP. With people like you out there, I almost agree with them.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  20. icon
    ShadowNinja (profile), 24 May 2017 @ 8:30am

    Re:

    I bet odds are good the FCC would work hard to find the author of such a bot and refer it to the justice department for prosecution for committing fraud.

    There's little doubt that the bot spamming FCC is violating the law and could be prosecuted under something for it (not just CFAA).

    link to this | view in thread ]

  21. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 8:30am

    Pai said the agency wouldn’t consider comments with obviously fake names, like Wonder Woman and Joseph Stalin

    According to online databases of questionable accuracy, there are anywhere between 0 and 20 people in the US with the name Joseph Stalin. Furthermore, there is one extremely famous (infamous?) person with that name who lived outside the US, suggesting that said name is not actually fake.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  22. icon
    Steve Swafford (profile), 24 May 2017 @ 8:50am

    Re:

    This is an example of why it's hard to read comments anymore.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  23. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 9:04am

    Re: Re:

    All depends on what the bot is saying, now, doesn't it.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  24. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 9:12am

    Re: Re: Re:

    agree, it is doubtful they will do anything about it.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  25. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 9:25am

    There's NO manipulation of the FCC commentary process.

    From anywhere outside the FCC that is.

    These fake comments were entirely in-house generated by bunches of employees pulled off other work.

    They got caught.

    Then the FCC says they're going to honor the fake comments anyway because OF COURSE THEY ARE!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  26. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 9:26am

    Assumptions

    Karl, aren't you assuming that Pai did not orchestrate the fake astroturfing campaign? What makes you reach that assumption? I think there is every reason to believe he condones it, and very likely helped implement it.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  27. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 9:31am

    Re: Re:

    The good news for you is when Mr. Email inevitably bankrupts TD you won't have to read the comments anymore. So you'll get your wish soon.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  28. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 9:47am

    "Ideal world"

    In an ideal world, the FCC would easily parse out these obviously fraudulent, duplicate comments and shore up the abuse of its API.

    Karl, why does your idea of an ideal world include fraud and abuse? (Nevermind that we wouldn't be arguing about net neutrality in the first place.)

    link to this | view in thread ]

  29. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 9:47am

    Governments go bad just like cheese.

    When the government is not even pretending to do things in the interest of the public any longer, it is time to start over. The corruption levels have passed the point of no return and laws are being written by and for corporations without anyone seeming to notice.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  30. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 9:52am

    Re: Re:

    Your visual acuity should be evaluated by a medical professional ... that is you are actually having difficulty reading text, they can provide options on how to best deal with your problem(s). Glasses, contacts or laser may help or you could just increase the font size, most modern browsers allow this, just hit ctrl+

    link to this | view in thread ]

  31. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 9:54am

    Re: Re: Re:

    Inevitable: incapable of being avoided or evaded

    Your conclusion is a bit flimsy as it lacks any support and is quite silly. MrEmail does not have a leg to stand on

    link to this | view in thread ]

  32. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 9:58am

    Re: How naive of you

    Yup.
    See this played out on a daily basis at local levels. they have their town hall where speakers are heavily controlled and limited by content and time. Not sure why anyone even bothers with it other than to get on the news. The politicians have already made their deci$ion$ and look down upon any who speak against their plans.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  33. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 10:03am

    Re: Re:

    You do not seem to be very sharp yourself.
    I did not vote for this shit and yet you claim I did, who should be believed - you or me?

    Social backdoor, that is a new one - is that the new talking point dujour?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  34. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 10:05am

    Spam comments that do not even attempt to hide the fact ... this what you get when budgets are cut - prob a new hire just learning how to write a script.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  35. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 10:11am

    Re: Re:

    I honestly struggle to comprehend how someone is able to exactly twist reality 180 degrees like this. What an idiot. Actually, I shouldn't say that, it's insulting to idiots.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  36. icon
    clemahieu (profile), 24 May 2017 @ 10:22am

    Improvement incentives

    How ever bad we think customer service is from ISPs, government customer service is far worse.

    How ever little control we feel we have over ISPs, we have even less control over the FCC.

    Government net neutrality is utter foolishness.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  37. icon
    William Braunfeld (profile), 24 May 2017 @ 10:38am

    Re: How naive of you

    To be fair, people were saying the same of Wheeler, until... y'know, the activism *worked.*
    And as was said in a previous TD article, while we may not be able to change Pai's mind or the FCC's current lumbering course, these comments are important to prove that the majority of Americans support Net Neutrality when this is brought in front of a court where Pai has to argue for why he's changing the rules again.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  38. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 10:41am

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    He doesn't need a leg to stand on. Just enough money to prolong the process beyond TD's means. THAT he does have.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  39. icon
    William Braunfeld (profile), 24 May 2017 @ 10:41am

    Re: Re:

    "If you spend your time building a machine that can be used to blow you up, you have little to bitch about when someone makes it go 'pop' in your face."

    ...how in the world does THIS logic follow? Do I also have little to bitch about if I get punched in the face because, hey, it's my fault for having a face?
    You don't even qualify that it's a machine that -only- can be used to blow you up. Try detonating some warheads on a military base and then telling them "your fault for making warheads that could explode on your base," see how well that goes for ya.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  40. icon
    Mike Masnick (profile), 24 May 2017 @ 10:58am

    Re: Assumptions

    Karl, aren't you assuming that Pai did not orchestrate the fake astroturfing campaign? What makes you reach that assumption? I think there is every reason to believe he condones it, and very likely helped implement it.

    That's not happening. There are enough problems in the world without making up bullshit conspiracy theories. As much as we disagree with Pai, there's no way that he has anything to do with faking comments. That's not even within the realm of possibility.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  41. icon
    That One Guy (profile), 24 May 2017 @ 11:45am

    Re: Re: How naive of you

    As I understand it, Wheeler was considered suspect at first because of his past history, and worries that he'd focus more on serving former employers over the public. As time passed his actions did away with most of those concerns as he demonstrated that he did actually want to serve the public(even if I feel he didn't go far enough at times).

    Pai on the other hand has made it very clear with his current actions exactly who he's interested in serving, and it most certainly isn't the general public.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  42. identicon
    Zippy, 24 May 2017 @ 11:47am

    Re: Re: Assumptions

    Not saying your wrong, but you didn't explain why he couldn't be behind it. You just say he isn't without any kind of evidenciary support or even just listed reasons. Can you provide them?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  43. icon
    That One Guy (profile), 24 May 2017 @ 11:56am

    "So long as the bot agrees with what we've decided..."

    And yet, I can't help but suspect that were the bot-made comments pro-net neutrality they'd be throwing a fit, claiming that it undermined any support for the rules because it was so difficult to parse out bot-made comments and legitimate ones.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  44. identicon
    E., 24 May 2017 @ 12:06pm

    Re: Re: Re:

    Yep. If it's something on their side, of course they'll ignore and hope it drowns out those who are for net neutrality.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  45. identicon
    BoJo the oafish clownish buffoon, 24 May 2017 @ 1:45pm

    Re: Re:

    It's good to get out of one's echo chamber from time to time. Hang in there. Seriously.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  46. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 1:56pm

    Re: Re: Assumptions

    "...not happening...bullshit...no way...not even within the realm of possibility."

    Got it. 100% impossible that a stupid, corrupt scab would behave corruptly.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  47. identicon
    Thad, 24 May 2017 @ 2:41pm

    Re: Re: Re:

    You do not seem to be very sharp yourself.

    But he's definitely a tool.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  48. identicon
    Thad, 24 May 2017 @ 2:56pm

    Re: Re: Re:

    You don't even qualify that it's a machine that -only- can be used to blow you up. Try detonating some warheads on a military base and then telling them "your fault for making warheads that could explode on your base," see how well that goes for ya.

    No kidding; it's a dumb analogy even by his dumb-ass standards. I own a pressure cooker and a gas heater; if one of them were to blow up, I would be pretty upset about that. I own a car, too, which is more than capable of maiming or killing me in a variety of nasty ways, but if it does it's because it's not functioning as intended. If my car explodes, is it my fault for being stupid enough to drive a car? Is it the manufacturer's fault for being stupid enough to build a car? Or is it not the concept of the car that was the problem, but some kind of implementation detail?

    If only there were some way to make sure that auto manufacturers followed some kind of safety standards. Perhaps a system whereby there were a list of such standards that they were required to comply with, under penalty of law. And some kind of body that were tasked with assuring compliance, and able to impose fines on manufacturers that did not comply, or ban them from selling cars that did not meet required safety standards.

    But nah, that'd never work.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  49. identicon
    Thad, 24 May 2017 @ 2:57pm

    Re: Re: Re: Assumptions

    You're asking him to prove a negative.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  50. identicon
    Thad, 24 May 2017 @ 3:04pm

    Re:

    According to online databases of questionable accuracy, there are anywhere between 0 and 20 people in the US with the name Joseph Stalin. Furthermore, there is one extremely famous (infamous?) person with that name who lived outside the US, suggesting that said name is not actually fake.

    Uh, did you just point out that this is the name of an extremely infamous historical figure, and is shared by less than 0.000006% of the US population, and argue that these facts are evidence in favor of the premise that whoever posted that comment was actually named Joseph Stalin?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  51. icon
    orbitalinsertion (profile), 24 May 2017 @ 3:55pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    It also doesn't want to look too far into the "Racist Left" comments in case a good chunk of those are botspam also. They are enjoying their narrative.

    (Not that there are not racist (sexist, otherwise bigoted) people with left-leaning politics. In no way do i imply that whatsoever.)

    link to this | view in thread ]

  52. icon
    JMT (profile), 24 May 2017 @ 5:00pm

    Re: Assumptions

    "I think there is every reason to believe he condones it, and very likely helped implement it."

    I doubt he's very concerned about it, but there's zero reason to believe Pai had anything to do with it. It's a stupidly hamfisted approach that everyone can see right through, and whatever you think of him he's nowhere near that dumb.

    You're making a wild conspiracy claim here so you'll need to actually provide some of those reasons and some evidence to back them up.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  53. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 5:09pm

    Re: Re: Re: How naive of you

    Normally I am a little biased against older people in charge of anything to do with technology, but this is mostly because of dealing with them on a daily basis when they go on and on about how things were so much better before computers and the internet and how difficult remembering their one single password is.
    In some cases it is an advantage, like with Tom Wheeler who is 69 years old and doesn't have a future in the private sector to consider. This is what made him change; he wanted a legacy so that people would remember him as a good guy and not the guy he used to be which was a bought bastard that would say anything for money.
    It is also why Pai is going to keep screwing us over... he doesn't care about the public or even the country. All he can see is the cushy extremely well-paid private sector job that awaits him, whether he is fired in disgrace or goes on to when the time comes and he just quits. There is no punishment awaiting him or banishment from that future no matter how much he screws up his current job, as long as he keeps doing what his corporate "sponsors" want.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  54. icon
    That Anonymous Coward (profile), 24 May 2017 @ 6:26pm

    I saw a tweet and we might have a source for the fake submissions.

    https://twitter.com/bennjordan/status/867160916646920193

    Loving this new @XFINITY feature where @comcast files anti-net neutrality comments to the FCC using your name and last service address.

    Below is an image of the comment credited to the person who posted the tweet, who submitted no such comment.
    It has the same BS letter we've seen flooding the site.

    Perhaps its time to investigate corporations gaming the system to line their own pockets at the detriment of citizens. I wonder if the people contacted earlier who said they submitted no comments or knew nothing about net neutrality ever used Comcast. And a bungled roll out of a astroturf bot would explain the "DDOS" attack from misconfigured bots using commercial cloud services.

    Its bad enough we have to pretend our leaders aren't being outright bought, but for corporations to invent support for consumer screwing policies by stuffing the public ballot box with their bullshit using citizen names should be criminal.

    Corporations aren't people, and their best interests should take a back seat to the public good. Of course this might mean ending corporate handouts of citizens tax money for programs that never do what they are supposed to, and reminding them of what an actual free market looks like.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  55. icon
    BernardoVerda (profile), 24 May 2017 @ 6:34pm

    Re: Re:

    "If you spend your time building a machine that can be used to blow you up, you have little to bitch about when someone makes it go "pop" in your face."

    Huh!

    Who would'a thunk?

    I, for one, had absolutely no idea that Roger Ailes posts on Techdirt.
    That's pretty good detective work -- how did you identify him?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  56. icon
    BernardoVerda (profile), 24 May 2017 @ 6:42pm

    Re: "So long as the bot agrees with what we've decided..."

    They wouldn't find it that hard to identify "fake" pro-NN comments...

    ... they'd just borrow and adapt one of the computer scripts that the RIAA or MPAA uses for identifying on-line copyright infringements.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  57. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2017 @ 7:56pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    Ray Tomlinson is dead, what makes you think he is suing TD?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  58. icon
    PaulT (profile), 25 May 2017 @ 1:28am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: How naive of you

    Normally I am a little biased against older people in charge of anything to do with technology, but this is mostly because of dealing with them on a daily basis when they go on and on about how things were so much better before computers and the internet and how difficult remembering their one single password is."

    The problem with that attitude is that you end up supporting the younger luddites, while ignoring the people who invented the very technology you're using. To use names off the top of my head - Tim Berners-Lee is 61. Vint Cerf is 73. Ted Cruz is 46. By your standard, you'd rather have Cruz in charge than the guys who invented the web and TCP/IP. No thanks.

    There are older people who are clueless about technology. There are others who know more than you do. If you use age as the only defining factor, it will lead you into serious trouble.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  59. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 25 May 2017 @ 4:01am

    Re: Re: Assumptions

    I'm sorry - but ever since Trump came into power I no longer believe anything is 'beyond the realm of possibility'!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  60. identicon
    Thad, 25 May 2017 @ 10:10am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: How naive of you

    I used to think my generation understood technology better than our elders. Then I worked at the computer store on the campus of a large university. Now I know that a significant proportion of young people don't know the difference between Windows and Office.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  61. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 25 May 2017 @ 3:54pm

    The FCC doesn't care <Internet users' demands>

    link to this | view in thread ]

  62. identicon
    Zonker, 25 May 2017 @ 5:28pm

    Re: Re: "So long as the bot agrees with what we've decided..."

    ... they'd just borrow and adapt one of the computer scripts that the RIAA or MPAA uses for identifying on-line copyright infringements.

    That would just flag all the comments, including the ones they approve of.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  63. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 26 May 2017 @ 1:44am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: How naive of you

    You are absolutely right in calling me out on this.
    The people you mention are among many others that I look up to, who has contributed and been a great part in tech innovation.
    I guess that I cannot really accurately describe a certain part of the population that I am against running tech regulations... maybe because that is stereotyping which is never accurate. I hate the stereotyping of anyone so I will gladly admit that I fell for it myself and was stupid for doing so.

    The problem is not, and have never, been any particular generation. It is the money, party-line politics, and ignorance that poison everything. There will always be ignorance, but the first two, money and party-line politics, creates a lot more ignorance and while we have so much of those, we can never gain a strong foothold. At best we can go back and forth depending on the people in power, at worst regulations will be made so they cannot be changed.
    I just hope we can make enough noise to make NN too hot to touch for a little while.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  64. identicon
    Wendy Cockcroft, 26 May 2017 @ 2:27am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    Ah, you noticed. These are the ones I refer to as "flat cap socialists." We're riddled with them oop North.

    RE: the article, I'm not surprised, as it seems to serve their purposes. What's the betting they created the bot themselves?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  65. identicon
    Wendy Cockcroft, 26 May 2017 @ 2:29am

    Re: Re:

    Indeed. Were I in a situation in which I thought a blog's admin was out to get me I'd stop posting there and seek a more amenable online environment instead of whingeing like an idiot expecting sympathy. MNH deserves none.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  66. identicon
    Wendy Cockcroft, 26 May 2017 @ 2:30am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Assumptions

    Why should it be Pai himself? Why not someone else who works for the telcos he is sucking up to?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  67. identicon
    Daryl, 26 May 2017 @ 7:10am

    What's New?

    The FCC never takes into consideration public comments. Ever. A particular commissioner might cherry pick one or two that support their positions, but there has never been a proceeding that has been significantly swayed by public comments. They're even less likely to consider them in the future given the "quality" of the comments received in this cycle, from bots on the anti-neutrality side to eloquent manifests such as "fuck trump" on the pro-neutrality side.

    We get the government we deserve. Scroll through some of the comments, and tell me what you think we deserve.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  68. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 26 May 2017 @ 10:29am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    Too bad the big telcos didn't start attacking Trump and give him reason to pull rank on this against what's happening?

    link to this | view in thread ]


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