More than 95 percent of public comments on a proposal by the Federal Communications Commission to regulate the privacy practices of broadband providers have been critical of that idea, according to a report issued Wednesday.

The figures were provided by "Protect Internet Freedom," a nonprofit group that established an online platform for users to submit feedback to the FCC. "A total of 259,539 opposition comments were filed against the [rules], an overwhelming majority of the 271,669 total comments filed in the docket as the commenting deadline nears," the group said in a press release.

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The public comment period is set to close Wednesday. Democrats on the commission moved to issue the notice of proposed rulemaking, which would restrict how Internet providers are allowed to collect and use customer data. Critics say that tech companies like Google and Facebook represent a more significant threat and would be given an unfair advantage because the rule wouldn't apply to them.

The proposal comes at the same time the commission is considering new rules for cable set-top boxes that would allow tech giants in on that market, which has traditionally been owned by cable companies. Opponents of that proposal have pointed out that it would similarly help large companies seeking to expand streaming video services, like Google and Amazon, to harvest more personal data.

With those optics casting an increasingly negative light on the agency, even some Democrats have been starting to express skepticism. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who authored the set-top box proposal, said in mid-June the proposal had become "too complicated" and had "real flaws."

Protect Internet Freedom's national director, Drew Johnson, said the comments on the broadband proposal should serve as a reason to back away from that idea as well. "The FCC cannot turn a deaf ear to the sheer volume of angry Americans that have spoken out against the brazenness of its proposed privacy rule," Johnson said. "The FCC's blatant regulatory overreach ... selectively picks winners and losers in the marketplace [and] completely undermines the FCC's credibility."

[NOTE: This story has been updated to reflect that Rosenworcel was referring to the set-top box proposal, not the broadband proposal.]