Marie C. Baca

Albuquerque Journal

ALBUQUERQUE - Albuquerque resident Elsie Whittle says she supports the policy known as net neutrality, which prevents broadband providers from charging for certain websites or faster internet speeds.

But a comment submitted under her name and home address to the Federal Communications Commission's website, states that she believes net neutrality is a "misguided policy."

"When I saw it, I felt kind of sick," said Whittle. "It's something I would never say, so how did it happen?"

Whittle said she believes her comment was one of millions that watchdogs claim were improperly submitted to the FCC as it was considering net neutrality policies this year. The FCC voted 3-2 this month to repeal the Obama-era rules in a decision denounced by consumer groups and hailed by the telecommunications industry.

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An Albuquerque Journal analysis of FCC records found 8,387 electronically-submitted comments purportedly from New Mexicans with the same message sent under Whittle's name: "Before leaving office, the Obama Administration rammed through a massive scheme that gave the federal government broad regulatory control over the internet. That misguided policy decision is threatening innovation and hurting broadband investment in one of the largest and most important sectors of the U.S. economy. I support the Federal Communications Commission's decision to roll back Title II and allow for free market principles to guide our digital economy."

Title II is the section of the Communications Act of 1934 that classifies entities as "common carriers" subject to certain regulations. In 2015, the FCC classified broadband providers as common carriers under Title II.

The Journal could not determine if any of the identical comments had been knowingly submitted by the users, or how many of the commenters were actually from New Mexico. The records show that at least three individuals with New Mexico home addresses, including Whittle, wrote to the FCC accusing others of improperly using their names or other information.

According to the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, more than half of the 21.7 million comments collected from April to August this year by the FCC contained "false or misleading" information.

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Whittle said she discovered the comment attributed to her after typing her name into a website run by the attorney general of New York, who is investigating whether the comments "wrongfully used the identities of New Yorkers without their consent." (The attorney general is investigating only comments from New Yorkers, but the website can be used to search all comments).

A spokesman for New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas said that while the office "has not received any complaints regarding this specific matter, we are aware of the issue and working with other state attorneys general on its impact on the FCC's decision."

As for Whittle, she said her experience has led her to feel more strongly about her position than ever before.

"I've always been politically engaged, but this has definitely activated a desire to do something more about net neutrality," she said.

More:17 Things in 2017: Net neutrality and the future of the internet