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posted by mrpg on Thursday December 06 2018, @08:41AM   Printer-friendly
from the russia-is-good-russia-is-love-russia-dont-interfere dept.

Federal Communications Chairman (FCC) Ajit Pai said it was a “fact” that there was Russian interference in the public comments ahead of its controversial net neutrality vote last year, amid sparring between another commissioner about a lawsuit the agency is in the midst of.

The admittance was made in response to a lawsuit filed by the New York Times, who requested access to records surrounding the public comments that they argued would “shed light to the extent to which Russian nationals and agents of the Russian government have interfered with the agency notice-and-comment process about a topic of extensive public interest.”

The public comments left ahead of the FCC’s net neutrality vote have been at the center of much scrutiny—with millions of fraudulent comments (including the names of dead people and current members of Congress) being used.

One recent study recently found that of the real comments, nearly 100 percent were made in favor of the FCC keeping the existing net neutrality rules.

https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/net-neutrality-comments-lawsuit/


Original Submission

Related Stories

FBI Investigating Public Comments on Net Neutrality Repeal 32 comments

Report: FBI opens criminal investigation into net neutrality comment fraud

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the use of stolen identities in public comments on the government's repeal of net neutrality rules, BuzzFeed News reported Saturday.

The investigation focuses on "whether crimes were committed when potentially millions of people's identities were posted to the FCC's website without their permission, falsely attributing to them opinions about net neutrality rules," the report said.

"Two organizations told BuzzFeed News, each on condition that they not be named, that the FBI delivered subpoenas to them related to the comments," BuzzFeed wrote.

The FBI subpoenas came a few days after similar subpoenas sent by NY AG Barbara Underwood in mid-October. Underwood "subpoenaed more than a dozen telecommunications trade groups, lobbying contractors, and Washington advocacy organizations," The New York Times reported in October.

Previously: John Oliver Leads Net Neutrality Defenders to Crash FCC Website. Again.
Bot Floods the FCC's Website with Anti-Net Neutrality Comments
FCC Officially Publishes Net Neutrality Repeal
U.S. Officially Repeals Net Neutrality Rules; FOIA Request Reveals Details of Bogus DDoS Attack
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Passes Blame Over Lying About Public Comment System Being DDoSed
99.7 Percent of Unique FCC Comments Favored Net Neutrality
Ajit Pai Admits Russia Interfered in Net Neutrality Process amid Lawsuit


Original Submission

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  • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @08:51AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @08:51AM (#770576)

    More specifically, the one with 'one term in politics/public administration, the next term in jail'.

    Start by making the Orange One wearing all-orange; black and white stripes will work fine too, i'm not fussy. Only, FFS, don't give him access to Tweeter.

    • (Score: 1, Flamebait) by DeathMonkey on Thursday December 06 2018, @07:29PM

      by DeathMonkey (1380) on Thursday December 06 2018, @07:29PM (#770795) Journal

      More specifically, the one with 'one term in politics/public administration, the next term in jail'.

      Well, the current administration is trying it's hardest to fulfill your wish.

  • (Score: 3, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @09:34AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @09:34AM (#770583)

    Given how often the administration attributes its own misdeeds to Russia, one thing is clear. Russia rules the United States, and nothing can be done about it... every department of the government easily admits that they are powerless.

    The image of a strong opponent does work in politics, but only up to a point. If you overdo it, your citizens will be calling the opponent's capital to find out how to pay taxes to them.

  • (Score: 2) by acid andy on Thursday December 06 2018, @10:38AM (5 children)

    by acid andy (1683) on Thursday December 06 2018, @10:38AM (#770593) Homepage Journal

    In Soviet Russia, the Russians blame YOU for everything.

    --
    If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
    • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @03:34PM (4 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @03:34PM (#770685)

      Yeah, no kidding. Why are we even talking about this? This is soooo boring.

      Hey, I heard there's a Soros-funded cavalcade of brown people starting to assemble at the very southern tip of South America. I heard they're probably filled with really bad hombres and they might even have nuclear weapons too. They're on foot and moving slow, but they'll be at the US border by the summer of 2020 (October at the latest). That's the kind of stuff we need to pay attention to. Besides, I heard we straight-up asked Putin about whether they do this stuff and he said "no". It wasn't just that he said "no", but he was pretty insistent about it, so that's good enough for me.

      • (Score: 2) by acid andy on Thursday December 06 2018, @04:05PM (3 children)

        by acid andy (1683) on Thursday December 06 2018, @04:05PM (#770705) Homepage Journal

        My unspoken point is that there are corporate and investment interests in the US that are against net neutrality. So why are nerds here so quick to fall for what might be a lame attempt to deflect blame?

        --
        If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @04:27PM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @04:27PM (#770713)

          I don't know if so many nerds are convinced, but of course our resident DNC whore (and he pays too) is convinced.

          • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday December 06 2018, @06:50PM

            by DeathMonkey (1380) on Thursday December 06 2018, @06:50PM (#770777) Journal

            When the people who were denying something are forced to admit it under penalty of perjury, I tend to believe them.

        • (Score: 4, Funny) by DeathMonkey on Thursday December 06 2018, @07:15PM

          by DeathMonkey (1380) on Thursday December 06 2018, @07:15PM (#770787) Journal

          My unspoken point is that there are corporate and investment interests in the US that are against net neutrality. So why are nerds here so quick to fall for what might be a lame attempt to deflect blame?

          Because it would be illegal for those corporate interests do so. And, since they operate in the US, they could be held responsible for their crimes.

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by drussell on Thursday December 06 2018, @10:58AM (5 children)

    by drussell (2678) on Thursday December 06 2018, @10:58AM (#770595) Journal

    The admittance was made in response to a lawsuit filed by the New York Times

    admittance ≠ admission

    • (Score: 2) by MadTinfoilHatter on Thursday December 06 2018, @11:55AM

      by MadTinfoilHatter (4635) on Thursday December 06 2018, @11:55AM (#770605)

      Dang! And here I was already hoping that the guy had been admitted to an asylum, where he belongs.

    • (Score: 1, Flamebait) by DeathMonkey on Thursday December 06 2018, @06:29PM (3 children)

      by DeathMonkey (1380) on Thursday December 06 2018, @06:29PM (#770765) Journal

      admittance ≠ admission

      admission [merriam-webster.com]

      admission noun
      ad·​mis·​sion | \əd-ˈmi-shən, ad-\
      plural admissions
      Definition of admission
      1 : an act of admitting : the fact or state of being admitted: such as

      • (Score: 2) by drussell on Thursday December 06 2018, @08:36PM (1 child)

        by drussell (2678) on Thursday December 06 2018, @08:36PM (#770833) Journal

        Uhhhh... The word you linked to the definition of is the correct word.

        You need to then look at the word which is incorrect in this context, admittance, its definition and proper use, perhaps also the root word, admit, and the differences surrounding the use as a transitive vs. intransitive verb, etc.

        • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday December 06 2018, @08:49PM

          by DeathMonkey (1380) on Thursday December 06 2018, @08:49PM (#770840) Journal

          admittance noun
          ad·​mit·​tance | \əd-ˈmi-tᵊn(t)s, ad-\
          Definition of admittance
          1a : the act or process of admitting

          admit verb
          ad·​mit | \əd-ˈmit, ad-\
          admitted; admitting
          Definition of admit (Entry 1 of 2)
          transitive verb

          1a : to allow scope for : PERMIT
          admits no possibility of misunderstanding
          b : to concede as true or valid
          admitted making a mistake

      • (Score: 5, Funny) by DeathMonkey on Thursday December 06 2018, @09:03PM

        by DeathMonkey (1380) on Thursday December 06 2018, @09:03PM (#770847) Journal

        Well that's the first time I've had a dictionary reference called flamebait!

  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @11:59AM (10 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @11:59AM (#770606)

    Is this just a convenient scapegoat for the US people are willing to buy, or does Russia think it'll benefit economically/politically if it destabilizes them enough? Maybe that made sense back when, but nowadays? It seems that taking out a huge potential trading partner is a bad idea unless they're directly competing with one to such an extent that it's worth crippling them as a trading partner.

    What's the narrative for /why/ Russia's trying to destabilize the US?

    • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @01:22PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @01:22PM (#770618)

      What's the narrative for /why/ Russia's trying to destabilize the US?

      It's so damn easy, it would almost be a crime not to do it. :)

    • (Score: 4, Funny) by SpockLogic on Thursday December 06 2018, @01:45PM

      by SpockLogic (2762) on Thursday December 06 2018, @01:45PM (#770625)

      Is this just a convenient scapegoat for the US people are willing to buy, or does Russia think it'll benefit economically/politically if it destabilizes them enough? Maybe that made sense back when, but nowadays? It seems that taking out a huge potential trading partner is a bad idea unless they're directly competing with one to such an extent that it's worth crippling them as a trading partner.

      What's the narrative for /why/ Russia's trying to destabilize the US?

      Vlad, is that you?

      --
      Overreacting is one thing, sticking your head up your ass hoping the problem goes away is another - edIII
    • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @01:45PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @01:45PM (#770626)

      Dictators and the like often need an external evil to pass blame on to so that he looks strong to his own subjects. Putin's picking on the biggest out there to maximize that effect. China would be a better trade partner to him than the US anyway, much like China is a better trade partner for the US than Russia.

      Short answer: The show of power is why he's trying to destabilize the US.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @03:52PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @03:52PM (#770697)

      Same as it alway is. The people are getting restless, so the state tries to start a war to keep them busy. Easier to incite fratricide by proxy, than to answer for their corruption.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Thursday December 06 2018, @10:59PM (3 children)

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Thursday December 06 2018, @10:59PM (#770919) Journal

      I vote convenient scapegoat. The alternative seems to be that virtually all Americans are blind, impotent, stupid, and asleep at the wheel, while all Russians are sauve, debonair manipulators. In short, we have a picture painted of Russians who are superior creatures to the best that America can breed. And, of course, that fits the progressive narrative.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 07 2018, @06:33AM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 07 2018, @06:33AM (#771051)

        Ignoring all evidence, like your ilk are prone to. Pretty sad.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 07 2018, @04:43PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 07 2018, @04:43PM (#771189)

        I can't conceive that the progressives think of themselves like that. The flyover state deplorables however...

    • (Score: 2) by urza9814 on Friday December 07 2018, @12:49PM

      by urza9814 (3954) on Friday December 07 2018, @12:49PM (#771121) Journal

      Well, the various US-based megacorps had to pick *some* offshore country to shield them from prosecution...why NOT Russia? I'm sure they got some good incentives for all that "investment"...

    • (Score: 2) by Nobuddy on Friday December 07 2018, @08:13PM

      by Nobuddy (1626) on Friday December 07 2018, @08:13PM (#771288)

      It is a simple cop-out. He was paid, and paid well by Verizon to throw neutrality out. he did. Doing so was illegal as hell, so he can't admit that. But there was clearly outside interference, so he will tack it on to the proven player in US politics- Russia. hell, he may have hired one of the russian propaganda shops himself, and thus have proof that it was 'them'.

  • (Score: 5, Funny) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday December 06 2018, @01:53PM (4 children)

    by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Thursday December 06 2018, @01:53PM (#770629) Homepage Journal

    You know you've really shit the bed when your last name is pronounced Pi and nerds still hate you.

    --
    My rights don't end where your fear begins.
    • (Score: 3, Touché) by redneckmother on Thursday December 06 2018, @04:35PM (1 child)

      by redneckmother (3597) on Thursday December 06 2018, @04:35PM (#770718)

      You know you've really shit the bed when your last name is pronounced Pi and nerds still hate you.

      Perhaps because his first name is pronounced "idjit"?

      --
      Mas cerveza por favor.
      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Thursday December 06 2018, @09:06PM

        by DeathMonkey (1380) on Thursday December 06 2018, @09:06PM (#770849) Journal

        That whole trying-to-destroy-the-internet thing is a bit off-putting, too.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @05:16PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @05:16PM (#770730)

      Sure, but the clueless dorks of the alt-right love this scumbag.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @05:24PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @05:24PM (#770734)

      Nobody relates to Hair Pai [youtube.com].

  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by Thexalon on Thursday December 06 2018, @02:55PM (4 children)

    by Thexalon (636) on Thursday December 06 2018, @02:55PM (#770663)

    Most likely, he's blaming the Russkies because (a) he knows the Democrats will believe it, and (b) he's covering for Comcast, Spectrum (formerly Time Warner), Verizon, and AT&T.

    --
    The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
    • (Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @04:04PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @04:04PM (#770702)

      I haven't seen this much coordinated deception of the public between the two marketing divisions of the uniparty since Bush claimed WMD's were in Iraq.

      -- Keep telling the lie until you make it true. --anonymous

      • (Score: 5, Informative) by Thexalon on Thursday December 06 2018, @06:32PM (1 child)

        by Thexalon (636) on Thursday December 06 2018, @06:32PM (#770769)

        Of course you have. For example, you might have believed one of the following:
        - Elected Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi was evil incarnate (right before a general friendly to the US and Israel launched a coup against him).
        - The US involvement in Syria, Iraq, and a bunch of other places is for humanitarian reasons.
        - The US is not involved in recent coups in Honduras, Ukraine, Libya, and a number of other places.
        - The US is not involved with the civil war in Yemen, nor in the civil war in Ukraine.
        - There is a group of people based in the city of Kabul who are in charge of Afghanistan.,
        - People who think and talk like Bernie Sanders, Ralph Nader, and Noam Chomsky are at best misguided and at worst trying to destroy America.

        These are all bipartisan positions.

        --
        The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 07 2018, @02:31AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 07 2018, @02:31AM (#771001)

          Ok, but Pai still is in the pocket of corporations, and saying Russia meddled with things is his way of saying look over there! I am going to check my bank balance while you do that.

    • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday December 06 2018, @06:27PM

      by DeathMonkey (1380) on Thursday December 06 2018, @06:27PM (#770764) Journal

      No, most likely he admitted it because it was the truth and if he had lied about it he would be committing perjury.

      Notice how he denied it up until he was forced to answer the question on the record.

  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by tangomargarine on Thursday December 06 2018, @03:57PM (1 child)

    by tangomargarine (667) on Thursday December 06 2018, @03:57PM (#770701)

    This reminds me of something else that happened recently...what was it again...

    Oh, right. "We find Dr. Ford's testimony compelling...but we just don't give a fuck so we're confirming him anyway. Thanks for coming forward, and enjoy your nightmare scenario."

    One recent study recently found that of the real comments, nearly 100 percent were made in favor of the FCC keeping the existing net neutrality rules.

    "That's nice; I'll just stamp this here, and you all can go fuck yourselves."

    --
    "Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
    • (Score: 2, Disagree) by Runaway1956 on Thursday December 06 2018, @11:04PM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Thursday December 06 2018, @11:04PM (#770924) Journal

      Most of us found 2001: A space Oddysey to be compelling. However, there wasn't a shred of verifiable truth in the story. Ford's testimony was far less compelling than Clarke's story.

  • (Score: 0, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @04:34PM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @04:34PM (#770717)

    are Russian!

    From the article:

    "“Nearly eight million comments were filed from e-mail domains associated with FakeMailGenerator.com. On top of this, roughly half a million comments were filed from Russian e-mail addresses"

    Note that if it was a fraudulent email address, it is by definition not attributable to its original author. Which is to say that is has no verifiable national origin without first determining the actual sender. Essentially the argument here is that a known documented fiction, should have one part of its content believed but not another part, and only in so far as it contributes to the current propaganda meme.

    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @05:00PM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @05:00PM (#770724)

      Essentially the argument here is that a known documented fiction, should have one part of its content believed but not another part, and only in so far as it contributes to the current propaganda meme.

      Huh? You might want to enroll in an ESL class, as your use of the language is nearly incomprehensible.

      • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @05:18PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @05:18PM (#770732)

        His English sucks, but his Russian is a lot better than yours.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @06:30PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @06:30PM (#770767)

          His English isn't bad, but his abuse of the comma might be criminal.

      • (Score: 2) by urza9814 on Friday December 07 2018, @02:50PM

        by urza9814 (3954) on Friday December 07 2018, @02:50PM (#771154) Journal

        Maybe you need to do the same...might be a comma splice, but it's perfectly understandable. What part are you having trouble with exactly?

  • (Score: 2) by darkfeline on Thursday December 06 2018, @10:27PM

    by darkfeline (1030) on Thursday December 06 2018, @10:27PM (#770901) Homepage

    Ajit Pai is fucking retarded. I mean, we all knew that, but come on.

    Okay, Russians interfered with the net neutrality comments right? The fake comments that were 99% against net neutrality? So you're saying that the Russians wanted to interfere by getting rid of net neutrality? The same position that our resident Pai-hole was supporting? Are we saying that the Pai-hole is a Russian plant? Is this a confession?

    --
    Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
  • (Score: 2) by legont on Friday December 07 2018, @02:29AM

    by legont (4179) on Friday December 07 2018, @02:29AM (#771000)

    Whenever you see a world Russian mentioned by free press, substitute it for Jew and see what you feel. An app would be nice.

    --
    "Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
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