FCC to Reveal IP Addresses of Fake Net Neutrality Supporters

It’s been two years now since net neutrality protections in America were officially revoked and, if we’re being honest, so far things haven’t been as bad as many (including ourselves) predicted.

For those of you unfamiliar with what ‘net neutrality’ is, they were a set of protections applied in the USA that essentially meant that broadband providers could not ‘prioritize’ certain types of traffic. Specifically, in order to stop them from offering ‘boost’ packages for traffic such as film/tv streaming or gaming. Well, perhaps more accurately, throttling those aspects rather than treating all online data equally.

While we haven’t seen those scenarios yet applied, however, that doesn’t mean to say that the removal of Net Neutrality wasn’t without controversy. Especially after it was discovered that many of the ‘online supporters’ of its removal were actually fake.

Net Neutrality – Fake Supporters

After offering an ‘open comments’ on the future of Net Neutrality, it was later discovered that many of the supporting comments (for it to be removed) were actually fake. In a report via Engadget, however, a Federal Judge has now ordered the FCC to reveal the IP addresses of these fake accounts. Specifically, in order to determine categorically where this ‘fake support’ came from.

In fairness though, this likely isn’t going to reveal anything we don’t already know. For example, the FCC’s chairman Ajit Pai has already admittedly that Russian sources did have ‘involvement’ in the review process with over 500,000 comments attributed to having come from the country.

What Do We Think?

Let’s be real. The chances of Net Neutrality being reinstated under the current US leadership is highly doubtful. Playing Devil’s Advocate though, many of the ‘worst case’ scenarios have not come into play. The main concern, however, is that without the protections, they may do some day.

As supporters of Net Neutrality, however, we sincerely hope that whatever is discovered is useful for its restoration. We will not, however, be holding our breath over the matter.

What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!