The Free Press—which runs the Save the Internet campaign in favor of network neutrality—has accused cable provider Comcast of hiring people to fill the hearing room at the Harvard Law School where the FCC yesterday conducted a hearing looking into complaints Comcast blocks traffic from peer-to-peer file sharing applications. At the hearing, the FCC acknowledged that ISPs have a right to engage in reasonable network management, but that those practices must be transparent to consumers—and if the ISPs didn’t open up about it, the FCC would force them to do so.
However, Free Press is accusing Comcast of attempting to stack the meeting with its own employees and supporters, claiming that 90 minutes before the hearing began, Comcast paid “seat-warmers” to fill the room, taking up almost every available seat. According to Free Press, nearly 100 people—including Free Press supporters—were effectively barred from the hearing.
Comcast has apparently acknowledged hiring “some people”—one spokesperson characterized it as “a couple of dozen”—to stand in line and hold space for Comcast employees interested in attending the meeting, and Comcast spokespersons have noted the practice is common for government hearings in Washington, D.C. Comcast told its employees in the area about the hearing and encouraged them to attend; the company also noted Free Press has been publicizing the hearing for weeks and encouraging its own supports to attend. Free Press claims it did not hire anybody to stand in line or hold seats; it’s also disseminating photographs of alleged Comcast “seat-warmers” sleeping during the hearing.
In the meantime, New York’s Attorney General has apparently opened an investigation into the company’s handling of Internet traffic. However, the investigation is not likely to have a major impact on Comcast no matter the outcome: Comcast serves less than one half of one percent of broadband subscribers in New York state, mostly in locations near the Connecticut border.
