Net Neutrality NPRM Opponents Join Those Seeking Longer Comment Period
Given operational problems in recent days with the FCC Electronic Comment Filing System (see 1705120052), groups opposed to a net neutrality rules rollback say the agency should delay its planned Thursday vote on the NPRM. The agency has no plans to do so. "No consideration is being given to delaying the vote," the agency emailed us. "If the Restoring Internet Freedom Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is adopted on Thursday, there will be three months for the public to comment on the Commission’s proposal. We appreciate the input we have received on the Chairman’s draft and look forward to further public participation in this process."
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The commission also has seen pressure to delay the vote and extend the comment period from some House Democrats and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn (see 1705120052), who said she would vote against the NPRM (see 1705160036). Flooded by net neutrality comments, the FCC paused posting any comments on ECFS all day Thursday and Friday.
"It's outrageous that the FCC is hurtling forward with their plan to slash net neutrality protections when they have continuously failed at their responsibility to maintain a website that can receive comments," said Fight for the Future (FFTF) Campaign Director Evan Greer. "When you add to that the numerous media reports that there are large numbers of completely fake anti-net neutrality comments using real people's names and addresses without their permission, it's clear that an investigation is warranted before the FCC proceeds. Providing more time to ensure that every member of the public can make their voice heard on this important issue is the least they can do. Anything less is a blatant subversion of our democracy." FFTF, Demand Progress and Free Press are behind the Battle for the Net website that sends a form letter opposing the Title II rollback.
"There is no shortage of public interest in commenting," Free Press said: "For this go-around" of net neutrality proceedings, "the Trump FCC seems to be less accommodating. The agency's comment engine has crashed on a number of occasions and now they've turned it off as the May 18 meeting approaches. Given all of these factors it would be common sense for Chairman [Ajit] Pai to extend the comment period through the summer and into the fall. But this isn't a chairman who's driven by common sense, or a desire to accommodate the public, especially a public that overwhelmingly supports Net Neutrality rules. Pai has already stated his intention to repeal these popular rules, but a flood of comments supporting Title II and Net Neutrality would make doing that politically difficult."
"The whole proceeding has been fraught with rush-hour madness," said Michael Copps, Common Cause special adviser-Media and Democracy Reform Initiative. Common Cause has on its website a petition collecting signatures that it says will be given to the FCC as a comment. The former FCC commissioner said the ECFS operational problems "create skepticism about its efficiency, I suppose, and who's trying to game the system. It's important the system be up and running. I would hope there would be a [proceeding] slowdown." Copps said a 90-day comment period after adoption of the NPRM "is not very much," especially as much of it will be during the summer months: "Thirty days for replies in August or whenever it is? Why we can't take another month or two to get that done?"
"The FCC ought to be concerned with taking an accurate gauge of the opinions of the country, both experts and just regular folks, about this important issue," said American Civil Liberties Union consultant Michael Macleod-Ball. "Just pushing [the timeline] back is not going to hurt anybody -- maybe they get enlightened by something they hear." The ACLU through its website also is collecting petition signatures to submitted to the FCC as part of a comment.