New York State Attorney Eric Schneiderman is asking residents to vet the FCC's net neutrality docket for fake comments.
A Pew Research report issued this week found that many of the 21.7 million comments "seemed to include false or misleading personal information."
Schneiderman says his office is investigating whether comments wrongfully used New Yorker's identities without their knowledge or consent. "
"We encourage you to search the FCC’s public comment website and tell us if you see any comments that misuse your name and address," his office announced on its Web site.
He even provided a box on the page where a name could be entered and the FCC database searched for fake comments. "If results appear, click on any comment that uses your name, and when the comment appears review the name, the address, and the comment text. (If no results appear, your identity most likely was not misused), the AG's office advises.
Residents are then urged to fill out an online questionnaire if they do find their name, including "If you have an opinion about whether Title II net neutrality rules should be left in place or repealed, did the comment match that view or was it the opposite of your actual view?"
The FCC made it easier to analyze and search that comment database by divvying it up into tranches of comments.
Related: Pai Releases Net Neutrality 'Facts'
