Net neutrality is almost as important to the American public as “Nipplegate.”
As of Friday afternoon, the Federal Communications Commission had received more than 1 million comments on its proposed rules for governing Internet traffic.
The last time people cared that much about an FCC issue was Janet Jackson’s infamous Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction, which drew 1.4 million complaints.
The Internet proposal is under fire from critics who say it spells the end of so-called net neutrality by allowing big cable companies and other Internet service providers to create “fast lanes” for those willing to pay the price.
The FCC extended the public comment period on the rules until Friday after visitors overwhelmed its site earlier in the week.
On Wednesday, Gigi Sohn, special counsel for external affairs at the FCC, tweeted that the number of comments — then at 900,000 — was already “the most ever” for an FCC rule.