FCC repeal of net neutrality drew form-letter floods
The Federal Communications Commission received roughly 484 nearly identical comments in 2017 opposing the repeal of net neutrality rules. The campaign argued that internet service providers should be required to treat all online traffic equally.
Campaign window
100 days · 484 comments detected
Shape of the campaign
Each red dot is one comment that matched the campaign's template text. Grey dots are unrelated submissions to the same docket. The clustering algorithm groups comments by semantic similarity, not by exact string match, so light wording changes don't hide the pattern.
How this stacks against other campaigns in tech regulation
- Non-compete ban backed by worker-rights template2,318
- Open internet revival pulled coordinated supporters1,212
- FCC repeal of net neutrality drew form-letter floods484
Scale
The template
“I am writing to express my strong opposition to the FCC's proposal to roll back the 2015 Open Internet Order. Net neutrality is critical to ensuring that the internet remains a level playing field for innovation, free expression, and small business. Without strong rules, ISPs will be free to block, throttle, or charge extra for access to specific websites and services. I urge the FCC to keep Title II classification and the 2015 rules in place.”
Attribution
Who organized this?
Free Press Action Fund and the Battle for the Net coalition publicly organized form-letter drives using their websites and email lists, providing pre-filled comment templates that commenters could submit to the FCC's ECFS portal.
Attribution is based on publicly available evidence. It does not imply wrongdoing.
Migration analysis
Did the campaign's language make it into the final rule?
The campaign opposed repealing net neutrality, but the final order adopted the repeal and reclassified broadband as a Title I information service. The Title II framing the campaign defended does not appear in the operative text of the Restoring Internet Freedom Order.
Phrase overlap is correlation, not causation. Many advocates and agency staff use the same vocabulary; matching language is not evidence the campaign drafted the rule.
Rule outcome
Did it influence the final rule?
The FCC adopted the Restoring Internet Freedom Order in December 2017, repealing the 2015 net neutrality rules despite the campaign's opposition. The order reclassified broadband as an information service under Title I.
Rule outcomes are matters of public record. Astroturf does not claim the campaign caused or prevented the outcome.
> Technical details
curated-17-108-21c8466351af31f7Docket ID17-108Finding slugfcc-repeal-of-net-neutrality-drew-form-letter-floods-945182GeneratedManual (edited)