Internet enthusiasts or seat fillers for hire? Photo: Free Press
The question has nothing to do with Comcast putting the brakes on customers who use BitTorrent to share files. No, it arises from allegations that Comcast tried to keep opponents out of an FCC hearing by paying random people to arrive early and fill seats.
The Web site SavetheInternet.com, which has been asking the FCC to stop Comcast from blocking files, accuses the cable giant of seat stuffing in an indignant post here.
The story was picked up online by Portfolio, a new business magazine that called Comcast to comment for its story.
Comcast spokeswoman Jennifer Khoury said that the company paid some people to arrive early and hold places in the queue for local Comcast employees who wanted to attend the hearing.
Some of those placeholders, however, did more than wait in line: They filled many of the seats at the meeting, according to eyewitnesses. As a result, scores of Comcast critics and other members of the public were denied entry because the room filled up well before the beginning of the hearing.
Comcast says it never wanted to prevent anyone from attending the hearing, but the pictures on SavetheInternet suggest otherwise.
If Comcast did hire seat-fillers, the FCC should slap it with a big fine. It’s hard to imagine an act that does more to undermine the legitimacy of public hearings than packing the hall with people who could care less about the topic under discussion.
Yes, I know that big organizations often assign employees to attend hearings in order to provide the illusion of support, and I think that, too, should probably be banned. Excepting people who are testifying, you shouldn’t be able to pay anyone to attend a hearing.
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