FCC net neutrality comment period marked by bursts of intense activity, long periods of inactivity Number of comments per day,April.27-Aug. 30, 2017
The comment period officially opened on April 27, and only 453 comments were submitted on that day. On Sunday, May 7, two major events occurred that coincided with a significant increase in submissions. That evening, comedian John Oliver broadcasted a nearly “>20-minute segment on his HBO show Last Week Tonight defending net neutrality and encouraging his viewers to submit comments supporting his position. The last time the FCC considered net neutrality in 2014, a Pew Research Center analysis showed that John Oliver’s program also led to a spike in the number of comments submitted.
Also on May 7, the FCC issued a news release stating that a distributed denial of service attack (DDoS) occurred against the electronic filing system. Some critics have questioned whether an actual DDoS attack occurred, noting that the FCC did not provide documentation regarding the attack following a Freedom of Information Act request by the website Gizmodo. And two Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have since requested an investigation into the matter.
In response to this surge of submissions, the FCC released a public notice on May 11 that announced a “sunshine period” for the week spanning May 12-18 in which the FCC would temporarily stop taking public comments due to the large number of submissions. According to the FCC’s statement:
FCC net neutrality comment period marked by bursts of intense activity, long  | periods of inactivity  | Number of comments per day,April.27-Aug. 30, 2017  | 1, .600, 000  | 1,400 000  | 1,200 000  | 1,000 000  | May 12-18  | May FCC stops accepting  | 800 000  | comments period" during  | "sunshine period"  | 600 000  | 400 000  | 200 000  | May  | Jun 1  | Jul 1  | Aug 1  | April 27  | May  | July neutrality 12  | Original Aug 16  | Aug 30  | FCC officially  | John Oliver segment  | Net neutrality  | Original Final closing  | begins  | about net neutrality  | day of action  | closing date  | date after  | airs on HBO; alleged  | accepting  | extension  | DDOS attack occurs  | comments  | Source Pew Research Centeranalysis ofonline submissions to the FCC's netneutrality public commentform.  | "Public Comments to the Federal Communica tions Commission AboutNet Neutrality Contain Many Inaccuracies and Duplicates"  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 