Broadband companies paid for millions of fake "net neutrality" comments to regulators, New York AG says

A campaign funded by the broadband industry submitted millions of fake comments supporting the 2017 repeal of net neutrality, according to a report released Thursday by the New York Attorney General.

The Federal Communications Commission's contentious 2017 repeal undid Obama-era rules that barred internet service providers from slowing or blocking websites and apps or charging companies more for faster speeds to consumers. The industry had sued to stop these rules before they were repealed but lost. The proceeding generated a record-breaking number of comments — more than 22 million. Of those, the attorney general's office calculated that nearly 18 million were fake.