FCC formally refuses to hand over any data or logs in New York attorney general's inquiry into fake net neutrality comments
WASHINGTON — The FCC is declining New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's request to turn over records related to the agency's net neutrality proceeding, citing concerns over privacy and security.
Context & Ripple Effects
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has been pressing the FCC since at least late November, when his office said the agency had ignored repeated requests for logs and records tied to its investigation of fraudulent net neutrality comments. Days before the agency's repeal vote, he formally asked for a delay, arguing the public comment process was corrupted by up to two million comments filed with stolen identities.
This article marks the escalation from stonewalling to outright refusal: the FCC now formally declines to hand over any data or logs, citing privacy and security concerns. That refusal did not end the fight — years later, a federal judge ordered the FCC to open its comment logs to scrutiny of the IP addresses behind the 2017 vote.
First-order effects
- Schneiderman's fraud investigation loses its primary evidence source on the eve of the net neutrality vote, leaving his office to pursue the inquiry through legal process rather than voluntary cooperation.
Second-order effects
- The refusal converts an information dispute into a court fight over whether an agency can shield rulemaking records behind privacy and security claims — a path that ultimately produced the 2020 ruling against the FCC.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, contested rulemaking comment processes become subject to judicial discovery rather than agency discretion, raising the cost for regulators whose public-comment integrity is challenged.
The trend: Disputes over the integrity of federal comment processes are shifting from agency self-policing to court-compelled disclosure, with the FCC's 2017 refusal as a defining test case.