Surprise! Buzzfeed Links Bogus Net Neutrality Comments Directly To Broadband Industry

Surprise! Buzzfeed Links Bogus Net Neutrality Comments Directly To Broadband Industry

4 years ago
Anonymous $MUlyiGRWxa

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20191003/08115943112/surprise-buzzfeed-links-bogus-net-neutrality-comments-directly-to-broadband-industry.shtml

We've long discussed how the Pai FCC's net neutrality repeal was plagued with millions of fraudulent comments, many of which were submitted by a bot pulling names from a hacked database of some kind. Millions of ordinary folks (like myself) had their identities used to support Pai's unpopular plan, as did several Senators. Numerous journalists like Jason Prechtel have submitted FOIA requests for more data (server logs, IP addresses, API data, anything) that might indicate who was behind the fraudulent comments, who may have bankrolled them, and what the Pai FCC knew about it.

Those efforts have slowly been paying off. Back in January, Gizmodo linked some of the fake comments to Trump associates and some DC lobbying shops like CQ Roll Call. This week, Buzzfeed went even further, drawing a direct line between the fake comments and the broadband industry: