[AGSchneiderman]

I think it's the wrong decision. We live in a democracy, and our country has clear laws requiring federal agencies to honor every citizen’s right to have his or her voice heard on any policy, like net neutrality, that impacts all of us. Our investigation has already shown that the legally required public comment process was deeply corrupted by bad actors. Until we are able to investigate who did this and why, and determine with greater certainty which comments are legitimate and which are bogus, our citizens’ voices are not being heard.

Chairman Pai has not disputed that the fake comments we identify exist – both supporting and opposing net neutrality -- or that Americans’ identities were illegally misused. Instead, his office has tried to paint the issue as a partisan attack. As I’ve repeatedly made clear, this is not about the merits of net neutrality. It’s about the integrity of the process by which a hugely important policy decision is made, and that’s a matter everyone has a stake in, regardless of their view on a particular issue.