Net neutrality didn"t stand much of a chance under Chairman Ajit Pai"s FCC leadership. And the Title II provision was even more beleaguered by a bogus email-writing campaign in favor of its repeal. But the perpetrators of the email barrage appear to have an odd sense of irony, using ex-president Barack Obama"s name to trash his old commission"s ruling.
According to the FCC feedback post, discovered via the PC Master Race subreddit, Obama"s name - and his old White House address at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW - was used for the following comment:
The unprecedented regulatory power the Obama Administration imposed on the internet is smothering innovation, damaging the American economy and obstructing job creation. I urge the Federal Communications Commission to end the bureaucratic regulatory overreach of the internet known as Title II and restore the bipartisan light-touch regulatory consensus that enabled the internet to flourish for more than 20 years. The plan currently under consideration at the FCC to repeal Obama"s Title II power grab is a positive step forward and will help to promote a truly free and open internet for everyone.
The feedback came back in May when Obama was already several months out of office.
Obama"s name was apparently among those hijacked by the group behind the wave of pro-repeal comments. Many people have come forward saying their names - or those of dead relatives - were used as names on the feedback. Actor Sean Astin"s brother MacKenzie came out over the weekend to bash Pai and the FCC because their mother, deceased actress Patty Duke, had been used as a name in three FCC feedback notes.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has been investigating the more than two million fake emails to the FCC. He had asked for a delay in the vote as he continued the investigation, but the FCC continued with the December 14 decision.
The repeal of Title II still has not taken effect, as it will need to wait 60 days until after it appears in the Federal Register. In the meantime, politicians are looking at filing suits or enacting legislation to keep net neutrality officially on the books.
Image via The Federalist