Fraudulent Malattributed Comments in Agency Rulemaking

Authors

Michael Herz, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of LawFollow

Publication Date

11-2020

Journal

Cardozo Law Review

Abstract

A specter is haunting notice-and-comment rulemaking—the specter of fraudulent comments. The stand-out example—the apotheosis—was the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) net neutrality rulemaking in 2017. Well over twenty million comments were submitted, but millions of those were highly suspect. It turns out only about 800,000 of those comments were unique—that is, not written by a computer and not a pre-written form letter or variation thereof. And of the rest, perhaps half were submitted by computers (bots) using fictitious names or the names of real people, living and dead, who had no connection to the comment.

Volume

42

First Page

1

Publisher

Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

Keywords

fraudulent comments, rulemaking, notice-and-comment, net neutrality, false statements, mass comments, democracy

Disciplines

Communications Law | Criminal Law | Criminal Procedure | Internet Law | Law

Recommended Citation

Michael Herz, Fraudulent Malattributed Comments in Agency Rulemaking, 42 Cardozo L. Rev. 1 (2020).
https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/faculty-articles/500