Senators Wyden and Schatz Wants To Know Why The FCC Made Up A DDOS Attack

The Federal Communications Commission was caught fabricating claims of a DDoS attack on its website to mask the massive public backlash against its decision to repeal net neutrality. Internal communications reveal that agency staff intentionally misled reporters and the public about the cause of service outages, which were actually triggered by overwhelming user traffic. This deception was used to downplay political pressure and justify regulatory changes without addressing the genuine concerns of citizens who felt their voices were being suppressed during the process. This revelation highlights a critical failure in government transparency and accountability, particularly when institutions attempt to manipulate information to serve partisan or political goals. The lack of evidence for the alleged cyberattack suggests that the FCC’s justifications were fundamentally flawed and potentially illegal. Such conduct undermines public trust in regulatory bodies and demonstrates how easily official narratives can be distorted when oversight mechanisms are weak or ignored. This incident is highly relevant to open data advocates because it illustrates the dangers of unchecked authority and the importance of FOIA requests in exposing governmental misconduct. When agencies hide behind redacted documents and silence, citizens and journalists must rely on transparency laws to uncover the truth. This case serves as a stark warning that open data initiatives are not just about releasing statistics, but about ensuring that government actions are subject to rigorous public scrutiny and verification.

Source: techdirt.com
Published on 2023-06-18

Open Data

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