AT&T Suggests To 300K Employees To Lobby the FCC

Several readers sent in the news that AT&T's top lobbyist sent a letter to all 300,000 employees urging them to give feedback to the FCC as it gears up for rulemaking on net neutrality. He even supplied talking points approved by the PR department. The lobbyist, Jim Cicconi, suggested that employees use their personal email accounts when they weigh in with the FCC. Pro-net-neutrality group Free Press has now likened Cicconi's letter to astroturfing: "Coming from one of the company’s most senior executives, it’s hard to imagine AT&T employees thinking the memo was merely a suggestion."

Comments

Re:Please People, You're Spreading Misinformation

[Tackhead]

This is getting blown way out of proportion and has a simple explanation:

You also have to BCC your immediate manager to remain employed.

I am writing on behalf of a Jim Cicconi at AT&T. He can always be found
hard at work in his office. He lobbies independently, but never stoops to
donating to opposition party members. Jim is consistent in that he only
lobbies in order to help America innovate in telecom, but never
offers bribes in exchange for their support. Jim often takes extended
measures to complete his lobbying, sometimes skipping coffee and lunch
breaks. Jim is a dedicated individual who has absolutely no
vanity in spite of his leadership skills, record of high accomplishments,
moral scruples and knowledge in his field. I firmly believe that Jim can
be classed as a top-tier lobbyist, and his recommendations cannot
be easily dispensed with. Consequently, I duly recommend that Jim be
appointed to regulatory office, and that this appointment should be
executed as soon as possible.

Attempting to influence public policy by means of astroturfing is an art; one sometimes has to
read between the lines.