A group of senate Democrats, including some of the Hill's loudest critics of FCC chair Ajit Pai's effort to roll back Title II, have asked the FBI to investigate the multiple distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks the agency said it suffered and which affected its online comment system.
Related: FCC CIO Says Agency Hit by DDoS Attack
“This particular attack may have denied the American people the opportunity to contribute to what is supposed to be a fair and transparent process, which in turn may call into question the integrity of the FCC’s rulemaking proceedings,” the senators wrote to acting FBI director Andrew McCabe. “We request that you update us on the status of the FBI’s investigation and brief us on this matter.”
The alleged attack appeared to be in connection with the net-neutrality proceeding. Signing the letter were Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), ranking member of the Senate Communications Subcommittee; Al Franken (D-Minn.); Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.); Ed Markey (D-Mass.); and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
Markey and Wyden have been leaders in the effort to preserve Title II.
Elsewhere, Fight for the Future also has asked for an investigation and documentation of the attack, and some in Congress have also asked the FCC for information about them, but the senators who signed the letter said the FBI needs to get involved given the seriousness of any cyberattack.
They asked the FBI to brief them "on this matter" by June 23.
