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Investigation Demanded Over Fake FCC Comments Submitted By Dead People (bbc.com)
An anonymous reader writes:
Fight for the Future has found another issue with the fake comments submitted to the FCC opposing net neutrality. "The campaign group says that some of the comments were posted using the names and details of dead people," according to the BBC. The exact same comment was also submitted more than 7,000 times using addresses in Colorado, where a reporter discovered that contacting the people at those addresses drew reactions which included "I have never seen this before in my life" and "No, I did not post this comment. In fact, I disagree with this comment." Fight for the Future also knocked on doors in Tampa, Florida, where the few people who answered "were shocked to hear that their name and address were publicly listed alongside a political message they did not necessarily understand or agree with." An alleged commenter in Montana told a reporter she didn't even know what net neutrality was.
14 people have already signed Fight for the Future's official complaint to the FCC, which calls for notification of all people affected, an investigation, and the immediate removal of all fake comments from the public docket. "Based on numerous media reports, nearly half a million Americans may have been impacted by whoever impersonated us," states the letter, "in a dishonest and deceitful campaign to manufacture false support for your plan to repeal net neutrality protections."
Fight for the Future says they've already verified "dozens" of instance of real people discovering a fake comment was submitted in their name -- and that in addition, more than 2,400 people have already used their site to contact their state Attorneys General demanding an investigation. They note the FCC has taken no steps to remove the fake comments from its docket, "risking the safety and privacy of potentially hundreds of thousands of people," while a campaign director at Fight for the Future added, "For the FCC's process to have any legitimacy, they simply cannot move forward until an investigation has been conducted."
14 people have already signed Fight for the Future's official complaint to the FCC, which calls for notification of all people affected, an investigation, and the immediate removal of all fake comments from the public docket. "Based on numerous media reports, nearly half a million Americans may have been impacted by whoever impersonated us," states the letter, "in a dishonest and deceitful campaign to manufacture false support for your plan to repeal net neutrality protections."
Fight for the Future says they've already verified "dozens" of instance of real people discovering a fake comment was submitted in their name -- and that in addition, more than 2,400 people have already used their site to contact their state Attorneys General demanding an investigation. They note the FCC has taken no steps to remove the fake comments from its docket, "risking the safety and privacy of potentially hundreds of thousands of people," while a campaign director at Fight for the Future added, "For the FCC's process to have any legitimacy, they simply cannot move forward until an investigation has been conducted."
I don't know what it is about network neutrality but every single time there is anything about it, it brings out the slashdot anon trolls en masse.
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
It's a company called DCI Group, this is not their first or last fake consumer front groups.
http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/firmsum.php?id=D000021952
Seems to be Verizon funding this one.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Talk:DCI_Group
e.g. 2001, they create a fake group called "ATL", does this sound familiar?
"I get letters from dead people
In August 2001 the Los Angeles Times reported that ATL was behind a “carefully orchestrated nationwide campaign to create the impression of a surging grass-roots movement” behind Microsoft. “The campaign, orchestrated by a group partly funded by Microsoft, goes to great lengths so that the letters appear to be spontaneous expressions from ordinary citizens. Letters sent in the last month are printed on personalized stationery using different wording, color and typefaces—details that distinguish those efforts from common lobbying tactics that go on in politics every day.” Although FLS-DCI has not publicly claimed responsibility for generating the letters, they are consistent with the company’s own description of the word produced by its “letter desk” service: “all unique, but conveying your desired message.”
"According to the Times, the campaign was discovered when Utah’s Attorney General at the time, Mark Shurtleff, received letters “purportedly written by at least two dead people . . . imploring him to go easy on Microsoft Corp. for its conduct as a monopoly. The pleas, along with about 400 others from Utah citizens,” included at least one from the nonexistent city of Tucson, Utah.
The below ones seem perfectly genuine and drive the point home with well-reasoned arguments:
Browse FCC for more.
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
The bot-driven fake submissions are in support of ENDING Net Neutrality. This was not a false-flag operation. These posts likely came from the DCI Group ( https://www.dcigroup.com/ ) which was hired by the National Cable and Telecom Association via Broadband for America see: http://www.zdnet.com/article/a... and https://news.vice.com/article/... .
Let's call them Everyday Americans. They have been conditioned to reject any programs with Orwellian names such as "Net Neutrality." "Net Neutrality" is very reminiscent of The Fairness Doctrine. "The Fairness Doctrine" was re-visited in 2008 as a way to suppress talk radio shows (cf, minority media) such a "The Rush Limbaugh Show."
In all seriousness:
Dead people are already being discriminated against already on a massive scale. For example they aren't even legally allowed to own property anymore, but must work through internediaries like foundations, trust funds, banks, and lawyers. And now you want to rob them of their voice too?
That's crass vitalism, that is!
This is something we from the grassroots action group "Dead does not mean buried !" take a stand against !
Beside which, we prefer the term "differently alive", thank you very much.