The net neutrality debate surpassed the 1.4 million complaints after Jackson’s malfunction. Sorry Ms. Jackson: FCC's new record

Janet Jackson, step aside.

The net neutrality debate has generated a record 1,477,301 public comments to the Federal Communications Commission, the agency said Wednesday, surpassing the 1.4 million complaints sparked by Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction at the 2004 Super Bowl.


FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler went back to the drawing board on net neutrality after a federal court tossed the agency’s previous set of rules for ensuring all Web traffic is treated equally. But Wheeler’s new proposal has sparked controversy for allowing Internet service providers like Verizon, AT&T and Comcast to charge content companies for an online fast lane — a move critics say would undermine the goal of net neutrality.

The comment total is likely to climb as a result of the symbolic “Internet slowdown” protest going on Wednesday. Netflix, Reddit and other websites are featuring an image of a loading symbol — the spinning wheel of death — to illustrate the dangers of Internet slow lanes and make the case for more robust net neutrality rules. The images link to a site that lets people send comments to the FCC, Congress and the White House.

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A sampling of the comments reveals the depth of public passion over the issue.

“ISPs could have too much power to determine my Internet experience by providing better access to some services but not others,” one commenter, Seattle college student Christine Schauer, wrote to the commission.

Others weren’t so polite.

“I hope you are all ashamed with yourselves,” wrote “Pissed American.” Another person submitted an image of a universally understood hand gesture made of computer code.

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In a sign of the intense interest generated by the issue, the FCC’s online comment filing system sputtered in July due to what it called an “overwhelming surge” in traffic. The FCC is now accepting replies to the initial round of net neutrality comments until Monday.

Advocacy groups are driving much of the debate. According to a Sunlight Foundation analysis of about 800,000 of the net neutrality comments, 60 percent were form letters written by organized campaigns. About two-thirds of the comments pressed the commission to adopt stronger regulation by treating broadband like a utility, according to the analysis. Republicans in Congress and major telecom firms have warned Wheeler against going that route, saying it would harm innovation and spark a flood of litigation.

After net neutrality and the wardrobe malfunction, other comment stalwarts at the FCC include media ownership proceedings and the rewrite of Universal Service Fund rules.