New York’s AG Schneiderman to Sue On FCC Net Neutrality Vote

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Schneiderman.

New York’s Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman has announced that he will lead a multistate lawsuit to stop the rollback of net neutrality.

“The FCC’s vote to rip apart net neutrality is a blow to New York consumers, and to everyone who cares about a free and open internet,” Schneidermnan said. “The FCC just gave Big Telecom an early Christmas present, by giving internet service providers yet another way to put corporate profits over consumers.”

He said the rollback “will give ISPs new ways to control what we see, what we do, and what we say online. That’s a threat to the free exchange of ideas that’s made the Internet a valuable asset in our democratic process.”

The new rule would “enable ISPs to charge consumers more to access sites like Facebook and Twitter and give them the leverage to degrade high quality of video streaming until and unless somebody pays them more money,” Schneiderman said, adding that it would “enable ISPs to favor certain viewpoints over others.”

The Thursday FCC vote “follows a public comment process that was deeply corrupted, including two million comments that stole the identities of real people. This is a crime under New York law – and the FCC’s decision to go ahead with the vote makes a mockery of government integrity and rewards the very perpetrators who scammed the system to advance their own agenda,” the New York Attorney General said. “This is not just an attack on the future of our internet. It’s an attack on all New Yorkers, and on the integrity of every American’s voice in government – and we will fight back.”

For seven months, Schneiderman has been investigating the flood of fake comments submitted during the net neutrality comment process.

The Attorney General’s latest analysis shows that two million comments stole the identities of real Americans – including over 100,000 comments per state from New York, Florida, Texas, and California.

The FCC repeatedly refused to cooperate with the Attorney General’s investigation, despite widespread evidence that the public comment process was corrupted, Schneiderman said.

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