Four Congress Members To FCC Chairman Pai: What Did You Know About Net Neutrality Comment Crash And When Did You Know It?

Pai

FCC Chairman AJIT PAI is scheduled to face the SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE in an oversight hearing TOMORROW (8/16), but four members of the HOUSE ENERGY AND COMMERCE COMMITTEE are doing their own grilling of PAI in writing over the Commission's handling of the Net Neutrality proceeding and the false claim that the agency suffered a DDoS attack that crashed its comment system.

A report from the FCC's Inspector General confirmed that the crash was not a DDoS attack but instead the Commission's comments system being unable to handle a flood of pro-Net Neutrality comments prompted by "LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER."  In response, a letter from Ranking Member FRANK PALLONE (D-NJ), Communications and Technology Subcommittee Ranking Member MIKE DOYLE (D-PA), and Reps. JERRY MCNERNEY (D-CA) and DEBBIE DINGELL (D-MI) to PAI pointed to misrepresentations the Chairman made at the time of the proceeding and charged that "it is hard to believe" that it took over a year for PAI and his staff to realize that no cyberattack occurred. 

"To the extent that you were aware of the misrepresentations prior to the release of the Report and failed to correct them," the letter tells PAI, "such actions constitute a wanton disregard for CONGRESS and the American people."  PAI was asked for supporting information for his claims of a cyberattack as recently as the House panel's oversight hearing on JULY 25th; after the IG report, he blamed the Commission's former Chief Information Officer for the issue.

The letter asks PAI to state when he and Chief of Staff MATTHEW BERRY became aware that the 2017 crash may not have been the result of a DDoS attack, why no correction was immediately offered, and other related information, with the legislators asking PAI to respond by AUGUST 28th.

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