Van Hollen, Democratic Senators Call for Public Review and Comment on Valuable Evidence in FCC’s Net Neutrality Proceeding

U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) today joined a group of Democratic Senators in calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to allow the public to review and comment on tens of thousands of newly-revealed complaints that shed light on proposed changes to existing net neutrality protections. The documents, uncovered by a May 2017 Freedom of Information Act request, were only produced by the FCC a few days before the Open Internet Order proceeding comment deadline in August and were just posted to its website last week, preventing people from commenting on the complaints. In their letter, the Senators note that the 47,000 complaints, approximately 1,5000 ombudsperson documents, and other related documents address key questions posed by the Commission during the proceeding.

"Although the Commission has undertaken an historic proceeding to undo the Open Internet Order, the FCC has failed to provide stakeholders with an opportunity to comment on the tens of thousands of filed complaints that directly shed light on proposed changes to existing net neutrality protections," write the Senators in the letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. "The public deserves an opportunity to review and analyze evidence that has a direct impact on the proceeding."

A copy of the Senators' letter to the FCC can be found HERE.

Also signing the letter are Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.),Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.)