Senators ask FCC to explain how net neutrality comments were filled with stolen identities used to post fake comments

Two US senators Jeff Merkley, a Democrat, and Pat Toomey, a Republican, who both had their identities stolen and then used to post fake public comments on net neutrality — are calling on FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to address how as many as 2 million fake comments were filed under stolen names.

“We were among those whose identities were misused to express viewpoints we do not hold,”  said Monday in a letter addressed to Pai. “We are writing to express our concerns about these fake comments and the need to identify and address fraudulent behavior in the rulemaking process.”

In December, just one day before the FCC voted to reverse net neutrality rules, New York’s attorney general reported that as many as 2 million comments submitted to the agency misused identities of real citizens. The two senators also suggested the FCC consider using Captcha technology to help weed out comments posted by bots and encouraged Pai to investigate the actors behind the millions of fake comments.

“We need to prevent the deliberate misuse of Americans’ personal information and ensure that the FCC is working to protect against current and future vulnerabilities in its system,” the senators wrote.