FCC Still Looking for Public Comments on Net Neutrality - The UpStream

FCC Still Looking for Public Comments on Net Neutrality

posted Saturday Aug 16, 2014 by Scott Ertz

FCC Still Looking for Public Comments on Net Neutrality

When the FCC opened up public comments on net neutrality, they were flooded with input. As the deadline, July 15, got closer, they received so many comments that their servers crashed, meaning people wanting to give their input were left in the dark.

In an effort to make it up, the FCC extended the deadline by an additional 3 days. Much to the agency's surprise, comments kept coming in right up to the last moment. This week, the agency announced,

To ensure that members of the public have as much time as was initially anticipated to reply to initial comments in these proceedings, the Bureau today is extending the reply comment deadline by three business days. Accordingly, interested parties now have until Monday, September 15, 2014 to file reply comments.

This could indicate one of several things. First, it could be exactly as they say: they are still interested in getting new input because of the overwhelming response. If this is the case, they might actually be interested in the results. That could mean that they might follow what the public wants.

On the other hand, the agency might just be overwhelmed by the fact that there are people who don't agree with their beliefs. If that is the case, the FCC might be waiting for enough comments to support their beliefs before they can make a decision that might not be the popular one. Considering the agency's indecision on the topic, this possibility is likely.

Hopefully both the comments and the decision will match: the Internet should be equally available to anyone who pays for access.

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