FCC Largely Denies FOIA Request for Net Neutrality Public Comments Analyses
In response to a Freedom of Information Act request seeking any analyses done by or for the FCC of public comments during the 2014-2015 open internet proceeding, the Wireline Bureau last week gave us 25 pages of various blog posts…
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and said it was withholding the remaining responsive records. It said it was withholding reports, emails, memos and other materials on the analysis of docket 14-28 comments because releasing them through the FOIA process would cause competitive harm to the entity that created them. It cited the exemption of interagency and intra-agency records, saying since they reflect staff analysis, thought processes and recommendations, they "would impair candid discussions about the subject-matter [of the docket] and thereby diminish the deliberative process" that goes with agency orders. It also said such nonexempt information is so intertwined with exempt information that "reasonable segregation is not possible." The blog posts the FCC provided were on NPR in 2014, looking at a breakdown done by data analysis firm Quid, and a series of 2014 blog posts by social media analysis firm Textifter -- three about open internet comments and a variety of unrelated blog posts. How the agency is handling public comments in the current net neutrality proceeding has been questioned (see 1707180019).