Public Comments Run Amok: Reforming the Notice and Comment Processto Help Reduce the Negative Effects of Mass and Fake Comments

Authors

Gwendolyn McKee Savitz, University of Tulsa College of Law

First Page

759

Document Type

Article

Abstract

The Administrative Procedure Act requires agencies to give the public an opportunity to submit comments in response to proposed regulations. When the proposed regulations address particularly hot-button issues, agencies can be flooded with millions of comments fromthe public in response. This most memorably occurred twice when JohnOliver exhorted viewers of his show to write in to protect net neutrality.The vast majority of the millions of comments submitted in both processes were duplicative, providing no benefit for the agency; sent inunder the name of a person who did not submit them; or both. If the vastmajority of the comments coming in are essentially useless, it is time torethink the process.

This Article argues that two simple fixes could help solve many of the problems caused by these duplicative and/or falsely attributed comments: (1) The submission process should be restructured so that individuals sign on to the comments of other individuals rather than submitting their own unique comment, and (2) Commentors should be allowed the option of verifying their identity when submitting a comment. These would help reduce the harm caused by both types of these comments and would be expected to be embraced by all affectedinterests: the agencies, the public, and the third-party organizations driving the proliferation of mass comments.

Recommended Citation

Gwendolyn M. Savitz, Public Comments Run Amok: Reforming the Notice and Comment Processto Help Reduce the Negative Effects of Mass and Fake Comments, 69 Buff. L. Rev. 759 (2021).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/buffalolawreview/vol69/iss3/4