Net Neutrality CRA Deadline Disputed; Dems Laud FBI Investigation Reports
Supporters and opponents of a Congressional Review Act resolution to undo FCC rescission of 2015 net neutrality rules are disputing whether Monday was the last legislative day to get the minimum of 218 signatures on a discharge petition to force a House floor vote on the CRA measure. Democrats who favored the CRA push, meanwhile, lauded reports the FBI launched an investigation into the alleged fake comments submitted in the lead-up to commissioner's vote on the rescission order. New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood (D) is also conducting a probe (see 1810160071).
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“I'm glad” the FBI is “finally investigating the use of stolen identities to influence” the net neutrality rescission proceeding, tweeted House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Mike Doyle, D-Pa., the House CRA's lead sponsor. “We need to ensure the integrity of Federal rulemaking procedures.” Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel clashed this month over the FCC denying media outlets Freedom of Information Act requests for data about who was commenting in the proceeding (see 1812030034). Docket 17-108 had 2 million comments that used stolen identities, half a million from Russian email addresses and almost 8 million nearly identical comments from email domains associated with FakeMailGenerator.com (see 1805090076). The FCC and DOJ didn't comment.
House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., tweeted he's also “glad to see” the FBI investigation commence, citing a request he and ranking Democrats on three other House committees made to the FBI and DOJ in January (see 1801240024). “I hope they get to the bottom of what appears to be a fraudulent attempt to sway” the rulemaking process, Pallone said. He's expected to become House Commerce chairman in January, and Doyle is likely to lead Communications.
The Internet Innovation Alliance lauded the likely end of the CRA push in this Congress, while Fight for the Future said that's no longer the deadline. “Today was the technical deadline for the House to force a vote” on the CRA measure, FFTF tweeted. “But now that the Congressional session has been extended, we have a little more time to get more lawmakers signed on. Keep pushing.” The CRA discharge petition at our deadline had 178 signatures, well below the 218 minimum. Supporters of the 2015 rules have been pushing the House in recent weeks to pass the CRA measure despite perceptions it faced long odds (see 1812050026). The Senate passed the resolution in May, 52-47 (see 1805160064).
The CRA attempt “has effectively failed in the Congress,” said IIA co-chairs Rick Boucher, Kim Keenan and Bruce Mehlman in a statement. Congress “should take this opportunity to enact bipartisan legislation that will remove this issue from politics, designate broadband as a Title I information service, enshrine in law the core principles of an open Internet -- no blocking of legitimate online content, no throttling based on content or unfair discrimination against content -- and add robust consumer privacy protections that apply to all companies equally.”