The Government Accountability Office (GOA) will investigate fraudulent postings during the public comment period over net neutrality. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to end net neutrality in December after the public generated some 2 million comments on the issue. The Pew Research Center found that 57 percent of comments used duplicate or temporary e-mail addresses and that Pat M. was the name behind over 5,900 submissions. (Courthouse News Service, January 24, 2018, by Brandi Buchman)
The FCC blocked the New York Attorney General’s fraud investigation by refusing to yield server logs of API key data that would reveal the identity of those who apparently paid for the inundation of bogus comments. The GOA said they would not be able to launch their investigation for another five months. In the meantime, big players such as Comcast and AT&T are lobbying Congress for a permanent solution, a law codifying the FCC’s decision on net neutrality. The law would end state efforts to uphold net neutrality. (techdirt, January 25, 2018, by Karl Bode)