Live data from Hacker News

Three Companies Impersonated Millions to Influence Internet Policy

ag.ny.gov

91–100 of 316 posts

Re: Three Companies Impersonated Millions to Influence Internet Policy

#91
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't a meaningful tautology. "The system is unjust because it is unjust and therefore must always be unjust." We can and should improve society.

Yeah, but the other poster was probably being sarcastic and just frustrated in a tone that is hard to describe in plain text.

[deleted]

Re: Three Companies Impersonated Millions to Influence Internet Policy

#94
post #6

"An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that the fake comments used the identities of millions of consumers, including thousands of New Yorkers, without their knowledge or consent." $615k seems like a slap on the wrist for what they did.

If an individual committed fraud by impersonating millions of people, they'd be in prison.

Let's put some shareholders in prison.

Re: Three Companies Impersonated Millions to Influence Internet Policy

#95
post #6

"An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that the fake comments used the identities of millions of consumers, including thousands of New Yorkers, without their knowledge or consent." $615k seems like a slap on the wrist for what they did.

Right. They need to reopen commentary and unrepeal net neutrality. How is it that we have a system that rewards endless appeals in the judiciary but the equivalent of a mistrial in public policy is treated with a barely-there fine?

Re: Three Companies Impersonated Millions to Influence Internet Policy

#96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Puts on conspiracy hat What if killing net neutrality was a given, but the administration wanted the appearance of due process… God, I’ve grown jaded.

What if? That's almost certainly what happened.

/\---- This! In fact, if you were paying attention to FCC proceedings during that time, I'd be surprised if you came away with any other conclusion.

Re: Three Companies Impersonated Millions to Influence Internet Policy

#97

My problem with Net Neutrality is what is its the "wrong way" to deal with a pesky problem: entrenched local monopolies. Net Neutrality is "oking" monopolistic behavior, under a narrow set of stipulations. I don't trust Comcast any farther than I could throw their CEO. I just don't see this ending well. I think the alternatives: expanding access, increasing competition, improving technology and promoting innovation,…

Infrastructure building is NOT an activity that benefits from free and open markets. The only way this works is if things change such that only government can build out infra, but it can be serviced by the best provider.

Re: Three Companies Impersonated Millions to Influence Internet Policy

#98
> LCX and Lead ID were responsible for many of these fake comments, letters, and petition signatures. Across four advocacy campaigns in 2017 and 2018, LCX fabricated consumer responses used in approximately 900,000 public comments submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) at the U.S. Department of the Interior. Similarly, in advocacy campaigns between 2017 and 2019, Lead ID fabricated more than half a million consumer responses. These campaigns targeted a variety of government agencies and officials at the federal and state levels.

Wow. Just wow. How can anyone at these companies be avoiding jail time?

And who hired them? Is there no money trail?

Re: Three Companies Impersonated Millions to Influence Internet Policy

#100
Not being very familiar with US government webdesign, it took a while for me to realize that this is in fact the official website of the NY attorney general, rather than the personal website of an individual.

The AG's name is written in huge letters on top, as if it was her, rather than her office, that mattered most. The name appears three times before the first paragraph of the article, and again in large, bold letters below the article. To an outside observer, this looks like a political personality cult, and the article itself reads like a PR fluff piece.

For comparison, this[1] is the official website of the German chancellor, the head of government, infinitely more important than an AG. His name is written as a regular-sized menu item, clearly subordinate to the office he occupies, and most of the articles use the term "The Federal Chancellor" to refer to him, rather than his name.

Taken as a whole, those websites paint a picture of radically contrasting administration styles, and aptly demonstrate just how incomprehensible US politics is for Europeans, and vice versa.

[1] https://www.bundeskanzler.de/bk-en

Post reply on HN