Letter to the FCC from people whose names and addresses were used to submit fake comments against net neutrality

For immediate release: May 25, 2017

978-852-6457

May 25, 2017
The Honorable Ajit Pai
Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554 

Dr. David A. Bray
Chief Information Officer
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554

CC Members of U.S. Congress

Dear Chairman Pai,

Our names and personal information were used to file comments we did not make to the Federal Communications Commission.

We are disturbed by reports that indicate you have no plans [1] to remove these fraudulent comments from the public docket. Whoever is behind this stole our names and addresses, publicly exposed our private information without our permission, and used our identities to file a political statement we did not sign onto. Hundreds of thousands of other Americans may have been victimized too. 

We call on you, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, to take the following actions:

  • Notify all who have been impacted by this attack
  • Remove all of the fraudulent comments, including the ones made in our names, from the public docket immediately
  • Publicly disclose any information the FCC may have about the group or person behind the 450,000+ fake comments
  • Call for an investigation by the appropriate authorities into possible violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1001 (“making false statements”) and other relevant laws.

 As chairman of the FCC, an independent federal agency, it is your responsibility to maintain public trust, especially while your agency is fielding comments on the future of the free and open Internet, an issue that millions of Americans care deeply about.

Based on numerous media reports [2], nearly half a million Americans may have been impacted by whoever impersonated us in a dishonest and deceitful campaign to manufacture false support for your plan to repeal net neutrality protections.

While it may be convenient for you to ignore this, given that it was done in an attempt to support your position, it cannot be the case that the FCC moves forward on such a major public debate without properly investigating this known attack.

All proper authorities must be notified immediately and the FCC must disclose any and all information the agency has pertaining to the organization or person behind these fake comments.

Sincerely, 

Brittany Ainsworth, Huntington Beach, CA
Greg Baynes, View Park, CA,
William Brahams, San Bernardino, CA
Christian Brown, Redondo Beach, CA
John Burr, New York, NY
Angelica Collins, Bear, DE
Megan Conschafter, Buffalo, NY
Ben Currier, Littleton, CO
Norman Daoust, Cambridge, MA
Cynthia Duby, Desert Hot Springs, CA
Aaron Francis, Santa Ana, CA
Michelle Ellett, Benicia, CA
Adam Galatioto, Gainesville, FL
Surbhi Godsay, Nashua, NH
Daniel Hickey, Worcester, MA
Richard O. Johnson, Castro Valley, CA
Samuel Lewis, Oakland, CA
Paulo Llanes, Seattle, WA
Joel Mullaney, Watertown, MA
Shaun O’Brien, Elito, ME
Nicholas Pannuto, Sterling Heights, MI
Daniel Pinkert, New York City, NY
John Ulick, Champaign, IL
Arianna Williams, Philadelphia, PA
Melissa Williams, Dallas, TX
Nicholas Ryan, East Lansing, MI
Adam Stone, Salt Lake City, UT

[1] http://www.vocativ.com/431065/fcc-ajit-pai-net-neutrality-bots/

[2] https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/10/15610744/anti-net-neutrality-fake-comments-identities