In 2017, the Federal Communications Commission solicited comments from the public on the issue of net neutrality before finally voting to repeal net neutrality regulations. There is one small issue. Some of the people who submitted comments in support of repealing the net neutrality regulations had died by that time.

Indeed, a huge number of comments may have been forged, prompting the FCC to share server logs that could identify the source of each comment. And today, a judge ordered the FCC to provide the logs to the two reporters who requested them, Gizmodo reports.

The comments were in opposition to or in support of the FCC's proposal titled "Restoring Internet Freedom." The proposal would have rolled back net neutrality regulations that prevent ISPs from engaging in certain activities, such as creating so-called "first lanes." In theory, without this protection, ISPs could throttle traffic from services like Netflix while allowing their own streaming video services to run at full speed.

The FCC argued that net neutrality rules stifle innovation and ultimately hurt consumers. Specifically, the FCC stated that "its framework will encourage investment and innovation rather than applying expensive and restrictive laws of a century ago to broadband Internet access services." Net neutrality proponents argued that the regulations would prevent ISPs from abusing their control over necessary infrastructure and allow individuals and small businesses to compete fairly. Of future concern are tiered Internet plans that block or throttle ISPs' competitors unless they pay additional fees.

When the call for comment opened, many rallied to support net neutrality, but the FCC ultimately passed the proposal by a vote of 3 to 2. Underlying concerns about the source of some of the comments is that bogus anti-net neutrality comments may have been used to justify the repeal.

Numerous attempts were made to have the FCC share server logs containing IP addresses and other information on the more than 22 million public comments it received; when the FCC refused to provide New York Times reporters Nicholas Confessore and Gabriel Dance with the logs requested by When they refused to provide them, they sued under the Freedom of Information Act. They have now prevailed.

The FCC argued that revealing IP addresses and other information contained in the logs would constitute an "unwarranted invasion of personal privacy." However, U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield was not convinced that it would cause any real harm, and agreed that the logs could reveal whether the entire process was "corruptible," although she did not entirely dispel the concern.

"In this case, the public interest in disclosure is great because of the importance of the comment process in agency rulemaking," the judge wrote. If genuine public comments are drowned out by fraudulent facsimiles, then the notice and comment process has failed."

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel congratulated the decision on Twitter, saying, "It's time for the agency to come clean."

Rosenworcel has been an outspoken critic of several FCC actions and policies. Most recently, she slammed the FCC's broadband penetration report, saying in an op-ed posted on CNN that the "FCC's rosy view that all is well has nothing to do with reality."